Constitution: Group Demands Removal of Sharia References, Says Nigeria Remains Secular State

KuniTyessiin Abuja

A human rights organization – End Sharia Now Campaign – has demanded removal of Sharia clauses from the Nigerian constitution, claiming the country is a secular state and cannot operate under a dual legal system.

Convener of #End Sharia Now Campaign, Benson Sunday, said the abolition of court that gives legal authority to any religious belief over citizens, as well as the reaffirmation and enforcement of Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which bans any form of religious governance at federal or state levels must be implemented.

In a statement made available to journalists yesterday, he said that 12 northern states have established full functioning Sharia law systems including religious police (Hisbah), enforcement of codes on dress, alcohol consumption, gender relations, and even religious conversion, while noting that it is not just a northern issue, but a Nigerian challenge.

He added that despite the constitutional promise of religious neutrality, the current Constitution is heavily infused with Islamic elements – terms, institutions, and legal provisions that contradict the secular national identity as promised.

He therefore called on civil societies, religious leaders, political representatives, student groups, traditional rulers, and every freedom-loving Nigerian to join in the campaign demanding for a constitution that reflects a country that is modern, democratic, united, and secular.

The statement read: “Nigeria is a proud, diverse nation of over 200 million people – people of different faiths, ethnicities, cultures, and philosophies.

“Our investigation and analysis of the Nigerian Constitution reveal the following shocking statistics: The term Sharia appears 73 times, Islam appears 28 times, Grand Kadi appears 54 times, Muslim(s) appears 10 times. These terms are not symbolic or historical references.

“The immediate removal of all Islamic /Sharia references and institutions from the 1999 Constitution, including: Sections 260–264 (Sharia Court of Appeal – Federal), Sections 275–279 (Sharia Court of Appeal – State), provisions establishing the office of the Grand Kadi and Sharia judicial authority.

“These are not benign inclusions. They are legal instruments that have enabled 12 northern states to establish fully functioning Sharia law systems. In these states, religious police (Hisbah) enforce Islamic codes on dress, alcohol consumption, gender relations, and even religious conversion.

“In many cases, non-Muslims and even liberal Muslims are being tried and punished under religious laws they do not subscribe to. This is unconstitutional, unjust, and deeply dangerous to our unity.

“What Happens in a dual legal system? When a country operates two conflicting legal systems – secular law for some and religious law for others? It fosters division along religious lines, injustice for minorities, discriminatory laws based on faith, suppression of freedom of belief and thought, legal persecution of converts and women.”