Daniel Bwala, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Policy Communication, criticized recent calls by some US politicians for Nigeria to repeal Sharia law on Thursday, calling the action an intrusion on the nation’s constitutional integrity and sovereignty.
In an interview with Arise Television on Thursday, Bwala stated that such foreign meddling in Nigeria’s own legal system is both intolerable and against international standards.
In response to the question of whether the US government has the authority to force Nigeria to change its constitution or outlaw Sharia law in the northern states, Bwala said, “They don’t have the locus.”
“Doing that will amount to violating a nation’s territorial integrity and territorial rights,” he continued.
He emphasized that Nigeria’s federal framework permits states to have different legal systems.
“Sharia law does not constitute national law. Although their style of administration is more sophisticated, we also follow a federal one, Bwala clarified.
Additionally, Bwala rejected US President Donald Trump’s purported threat of military action in Nigeria, claiming that it would be against international law.
“Even the threat of potential military invasion is not consistent with the US convention because there are only three conditions upon which another country can invade militarily,” he stated.
“You are either invited by that nation, you are at war with that nation, or the UN requests that you visit that nation.”
Bwala’s comments follow a congressional briefing in the US when senators were advised to advocate for the disbandment of Nigeria’s Hisbah religious police and the repeal of Sharia law.
Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, a Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, asserted during the hearing that extremist organizations like ISWAP and Boko Haram “weaponize Hisbah operatives and Sharia-based institutions to advance extremist ideology, enforce forced conversions, and operate unchecked in many communities.”
However, Bwala maintained that Nigerian constitutional revisions are an internal matter that is outside the jurisdiction of any foreign authority.
“We don’t agree with them that our constitution should be changed. Nigeria is a sovereign state that has never been colonized by the United States, and we are not Venezuela, he proclaimed.
