The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has rejected a call by a Senior Fellow of the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), Dr. Ebenezer Obadare, urged the United States government to pressure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into outlawing Shari’ah law and Hisbah institutions in Nigeria.
Obadare reportedly made the appeal during a joint U.S. House briefing, held in response to America’s recent designation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern.” His comments have drawn widespread reactions within Nigeria’s Muslim community.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Thursday, December 4, 2025, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, described the call as “crossing the red line,” warned that any attempt local or foreign to abolish Shari’ah would amount to an assault on Nigeria’s sovereignty and constitutional order.
According to the group, the suggestion “raises more questions than answers” about the intention of the United States regarding Nigeria’s internal religious framework and counterterrorism efforts.
“Obadare’s call is mischievous, reactionary and undemocratic,” Akintola said. “It is imperialistic and represents a backdoor attempt by opponents of Shari’ah to use external influence to achieve what they failed to achieve through democratic processes. It will not happen.”
MURIC insisted that Shari’ah is an integral part of the identity and religious life of Nigerian Muslims, added that any attempt to tamper with it would erode public trust and undermine the support of moderate Muslims who currently back government efforts against extremist groups.
“The moment anyone attempts to touch our Shari’ah, we begin to see him seeking to eliminate Islam in its totality,” the statement read. “It is a red line. Nigerian Muslims are not fools. We will continue to support President Tinubu’s war on terror, but that support will not survive any move to outlaw Shari’ah.”
The group cautioned the U.S. government against conflating the practice of Shari’ah with terrorism, stressing that the Hisbah corps and other Islamic legal structures operate legally and constitutionally in several northern states.
“Is the U.S. fighting terror or fighting Islam?” MURIC queried, warning that any attempt to link Shari’ah to terrorism would further complicate Nigeria’s security partnership with Western allies.
MURIC concluded by urging the Nigerian government to resist foreign interference in religious matters, insisting that Shari’ah is fully grounded in democratic choices made by states where it is practiced.
