United States lawmakers have been urged to mount direct diplomatic pressure on the Nigerian government to abolish Sharia criminal law in the 12 northern states where it has operated since 2000 and to disband Hisbah religious-police groups accused of enabling extremist abuses.
The call was made on Tuesday during a joint House congressional session convened in response to President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC). The hearing, led by Appropriations Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart, focused on what witnesses described as escalating religious persecution and systemic violence against Christian communities across northern Nigeria and the Middle Belt.
Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, told lawmakers that Sharia-based governance and Hisbah enforcement structures have become “ideological and operational cover” for jihadist groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP and radicalised Fulani militias, who allegedly carry out forced conversions, enforce extremist rule and operate with “near-total impunity.”
Obadare outlined a two-step policy recommendation for Washington: “The United States should work with the Nigerian military to neutralise Boko Haram, and then pressure President Tinubu to make Sharia law unconstitutional in the twelve northern states and disband the Hisbah groups enforcing Islamic law on all citizens regardless of religion.”
While acknowledging that Nigeria has taken steps following Trump’s CPC directive—including new airstrikes on Boko Haram targets, recruitment of 30,000 additional police officers and the declaration of a national security emergency—Obadare insisted the U.S. must “keep up the pressure.”
Throughout the hearing, lawmakers cited recent mass abductions, blasphemy imprisonments and deadly attacks on Christian communities as evidence that the Nigerian state is failing to prosecute perpetrators and, in some cases, enabling what they termed “religious cleansing.”
Rep. Chris Smith described Nigeria as “ground zero for global anti-Christian persecution,” while Rep. Brian Mast demanded immediate disarmament of militias and the prosecution of attackers.
Officials from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and Alliance Defending Freedom International detailed ongoing atrocities and urged the U.S. government to impose conditionality on security assistance and apply targeted sanctions to compel accountability.
Both Republican and Democratic members signalled support for Díaz-Balart’s FY26 appropriations proposals aimed at addressing the crisis. Lawmakers confirmed that a formal report is being drafted for President Trump, which may recommend restrictions on U.S. aid should Nigerian authorities fail to act.
Nigeria was first designated as a CPC in 2020 under Trump, a status reversed by President Biden before being reinstated on October 31 this year, alongside a warning of possible military action if Abuja does not curb extremist violence.
Tuesday’s hearing solidified a growing consensus in Washington: that dismantling Sharia criminal codes and eliminating Hisbah religious police are now seen as central to addressing what U.S. legislators describe as one of the world’s most severe and underreported religious-freedom crises.
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