Presidential Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has dismissed suggestions by some United States lawmakers that Nigeria should abolish Sharia law, insisting that the US has no legal or moral authority to dictate constitutional changes to a sovereign nation.
Speaking on Thursday during an interview on Arise
Television, Bwala said any attempt by a foreign country to instruct Nigeria on
constitutional matters would amount to an attack on its sovereignty.
“They don’t have the locus,” he said when asked whether the
US government had the right to push Nigeria to disband Sharia law in northern
states or amend its constitution.
“In doing that, it’ll amount to infringing on the
territorial integrity and territorial right of a country,” Bwala added.
The Presidential aide argued that even President Donald
Trump’s recent threat of possible military intervention was inconsistent with
international norms and the US convention.
He said, “Even the threat of possible military invasion is
not consistent with the US convention, because there are only three conditions
upon which another country can invade militarily. Either you invited by that
country, or you are at war with that country, or the United Nations asks you to
be in that country,” he explained.
He noted that Sharia law, currently operational in 12
northern states, is not a federal policy but a state-level legal framework
permitted under Nigeria’s federal structure.
“Sharia law is not a national law. We also practice federal
system of government, although their own is more advanced,” he stated.
It would be recalled that during a joint congressional
briefing on Tuesday, US lawmakers were urged to pressure Nigeria to abolish
Sharia law and disband Hisbah religious police, with experts warning that
extremist groups exploit these structures to advance violent persecution of
Christians.
Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at
the Council on Foreign Relations, told lawmakers that Boko Haram, ISWAP and
radicalised militia groups “weaponise Sharia-based institutions and Hisbah
operatives to advance extremist ideology, enforce forced conversions, and
operate unchecked in many communities.”
But Bwala stressed that Nigeria’s constitution is not
subject to foreign approval.
“We differ with them on this idea of amending our
constitution. Nigeria is a sovereign state, has never been colonized by America
anywhere and we are not Venezuela,” he stated.
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