The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has strongly rejected recent calls by some United States lawmakers urging Nigeria to abolish Sharia law, characterizing the demand as an unacceptable infringement on Nigeria’s constitutional sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday, Bwala asserted that any foreign interference aimed at amending Nigeria’s internal legal framework is both a violation of international norms and legally baseless.
“They don’t have the locus,” Bwala stated, emphasizing that the US government has no right to compel Nigeria to abolish Sharia law in its northern states or demand constitutional amendments. He argued that such an action would amount to “infringing on the territorial integrity and territorial right of a country.”
Bwala highlighted Nigeria’s federal system, which he said accommodates diverse legal structures across its constituent states. He pointed out that Sharia law is applied at the state level and is not a federal mandate.
The presidential aide also addressed the notion of possible US military intervention in Nigeria, dismissing any alleged threat from US political figures like President Donald Trump. Bwala insisted that military action would contravene international legal standards, which permit invasion only if a country is invited, is at war with the intervening nation, or if the intervention is sanctioned by the United Nations.
Bwala’s remarks are a direct response to a recent congressional briefing in the US, during which lawmakers were urged to campaign for the removal of Sharia law and the disbandment of the Hisbah religious police in Nigeria.
The congressional session featured claims from academics, including Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, a Senior Fellow for Africa Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, who alleged that extremist groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP “weaponise Sharia-based institutions and Hisbah operatives to advance extremist ideology.”
However, Bwala maintained that the process of constitutional amendment is purely a domestic affair, stating firmly: “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.”
