US Cannot Dictate Nigeria’s Constitution — Bwala Rejects Call to Scrap Sharia Law
Presidential Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has strongly rejected suggestions by some United States lawmakers that Nigeria should abolish Sharia law, insisting that no foreign government has the authority to dictate constitutional changes to a sovereign nation.
Speaking on Arise Television on Thursday, Bwala said the proposal for Nigeria to amend its constitution or disband Sharia-based institutions amounted to an attack on the country’s sovereignty.
“They don’t have the locus,” he said when asked whether the US had any right to push Nigeria to abolish Sharia law in northern states.
“In doing that, it amounts to infringing on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of a country.”
Bwala also described former US President Donald Trump’s recent comments hinting at possible military intervention as inconsistent with international norms and even with US conventions.
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“Even the threat of possible military invasion is not consistent with the US convention,” Bwala said. “There are only three legal grounds under which a country can be invaded militarily: you are invited by that country, you are at war with that country, or the United Nations authorises intervention.”
He noted that Sharia law, which operates in 12 northern states, is a state-level system permitted under Nigeria’s federal structure, not a national legal framework.
“Sharia law is not a national law. We practice a federal system of government, although theirs is more advanced,” he added.
The controversy follows a joint congressional briefing in Washington on Tuesday, where US lawmakers were urged to exert pressure on Nigeria to abolish Sharia law and disband Hisbah religious police.
Experts at the briefing, including Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, argued that extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP have exploited Sharia-based institutions to entrench radical ideologies and persecute Christian communities.
But Bwala insisted that constitutional amendments in Nigeria are not subject to foreign approval.
“We differ with them on this idea of amending our constitution. Nigeria is a sovereign state, has never been colonised by America anywhere, and we are not Venezuela,” he said.
By PRNigeria
