A growing chorus of American lawmakers and foreign-policy specialists is challenging Nigeria’s handling of religious freedom, with senior experts urging Washington to pressure President Bola Tinubu’s administration to roll back Sharia criminal codes and dissolve Hisbah religious-enforcement bodies operating across the north.
The call was issued during a joint House briefing held in Washington on Tuesday, convened in response to Nigeria’s reinstatement on the United States’ “Country of Particular Concern” list for severe violations of religious freedom.
The session drew bipartisan attendance and focused heavily on what witnesses described as entrenched discrimination against Christian communities across northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt.
Dr Ebenezer Obadare, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, delivered one of the most forceful presentations.
He argued that extremist groups have leveraged Sharia-based institutions to deepen insecurity, warning that the legal frameworks adopted by several northern states since 2000 have created fertile ground for violence.
In his words, “Nigeria’s authorities have shown that they respond to external pressure. The steps taken in recent weeks, air strikes on Boko Haram cells, a surge in police recruitment, and the declaration of a national security emergency, are evidence of that. But Washington must keep up the pressure because the crisis is far from over.”
Obadare set out three specific actions he believes US leaders should press President Tinubu to implement: the elimination of Boko Haram as a fighting force through intensified military cooperation; the abolition of Sharia criminal law in the twelve northern states that adopted it at the turn of the century; and the dissolution of Hisbah commissions that enforce Sharia codes on citizens regardless of religious belief.
His remarks underscored a deeper assessment of Nigeria’s security breakdown.
“The most destructive threat to the Nigerian state remains jihadist terrorism,” he told lawmakers, “and any solution that sidesteps the need to dismantle Boko Haram is no solution at all.”
The briefing, chaired by House Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart, heard several allegations that federal and state authorities in Nigeria had not done enough to curb what some witnesses termed “religious cleansing.”
Incidents referenced included the November 22 kidnapping of pupils and teachers from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Niger State, ongoing prosecutions under blasphemy laws, and a wave of killings across the Middle Belt that observers argue goes beyond resource-driven conflict.
Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey described Nigeria as “ground zero of global anti-Christian persecution,” while Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast insisted that militias involved in rural attacks must be disarmed and prosecuted.
Other contributors, including U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Chair Vicky Hartzler and ADF International’s Sean Nelson, urged Congress to leverage military assistance, sanctions, and improved early-warning systems to pressure Nigerian authorities.
Lawmakers disclosed that the House Appropriations Committee is preparing a formal report to President Donald Trump outlining new recommendations, including possible conditions tied to U.S. aid to Nigeria.
Much of the debate centred on the evolution of Sharia’s role in northern Nigeria. Before 2000, the Islamic legal system largely covered personal and civil matters.
That changed when twelve states expanded Sharia into criminal law, introducing penalties for blasphemy, alleged moral offences, and, in some cases, capital punishment for same-sex relationships.
Although observers note no executions under the Sharia penal system have been carried out since 1999, Hisbah agencies, created by state governments to enforce these codes, have long faced criticism for intrusive moral policing.
Residents have repeatedly accused Hisbah brigades of arbitrary arrests, harassment over music and dress, and discriminatory enforcement practices.
One witness at the briefing said the system “creates a two-tier society where citizenship rights depend on religious identity.”
The growing debate in Washington suggests that Nigeria’s religious-freedom record is likely to feature prominently in future US-Nigeria relations, especially as appropriations committees finalise their recommendations for the White House.