By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa SAN
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The flurry of activities since November 3, 2025, when America declared Nigeria as a country of particular concern has been mind-boggling but generally not unexpected. The government has been in panic mode, with several inconsistent policies and statements. While in one breadth it was touted that President Tinubu was on his way to the White House to meet with the American Vice President, another stated clearly that no such meeting was scheduled or envisaged. But one thing is clear, mainly that the government is coming to terms with the collapsing security situation in the country.
If it takes President Donald Trump to wake up President Bola Tinubu to the reality of the enormous responsibility placed upon him by law to protect the people, so be it. Two recent events shaped my resolve on this issue. I watched an unedited video of officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, narrating how they share confiscated rice to terrorists as a form of ransom to secure the lives of these officers and to buy peace. Then I listened to the former Editor of The Guardian newspapers, Mr. Martins Oloja, in another video interview, wherein he catalogued the various persecutions being suffered by Northerners who are of the Christian faith, undergoing so many deprivations and denials. Because of my own personal experience in the South-West zone of Nigeria, I truly do not see religion as the main issue facing us as a nation. But I cannot dismiss or close my eyes to the peculiar circumstances prevailing in the Northern States of Nigeria. I grew up with Muslims, I ate and dined with a good number of them as my fellow Comrades, clients and colleagues and I have never truly felt the need to highlight religion as a dividing issue. I was actually trained in my law practice by a Muslim who believed solely in merit as the major factor of relating with people. We were trained to dwell together as one big family. Indeed, the Constitution of Nigeria in its section 42 prohibits discrimination against anyone on the ground of faith. It is that serious. But this is not to say that some others are not carrying on as if the Constitution does not exist. Those should be our target. And it is wrong to pretend that the extremists do not exist to derail the secular nature of our country. The various States in Nigeria that are busy implementing various Sharia Laws over non-muslims who reside and work in their States are undermining the sanctity of the Constitution and indeed the sovereignty of Nigeria. As it is presently, we seem to have lost our sovereignty to Sharia Law and jihadists.
Let me share with you a piece that I read on TheNigeriaLawyer WhatsApp platform and other opinions on this issue.
“Thank you for raising the point about Sharia Law’s sacred nature to Muslims. It is an important aspect of this discussion. However, Senator Cruz’s position is not an attack on the personal faith or religious practices of individual Muslims. Rather, it is a necessary stand against how certain aspects of Sharia Law are implemented by the state in ways that systematically violate fundamental human rights, often with deadly consequences. You questioned whether Senator Cruz truly understands Sharia Law, calling it a sacred, divinely derived framework from the Quran and Sunnah that forms the very way of life for Muslims, and suggested his bill reflects “crass ignorance,” much like his takes on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With respect, that is a profound misunderstanding of both the bill and the realities on the ground in Nigeria. Cruz’s legislation is not meddling in theology or private devotion. It is a targeted response to state-enforced blasphemy laws that have led to mob lynchings, death sentences, and a culture of impunity. Far from ignorance, this is informed advocacy drawing on documented human rights abuses. Let me break it down. I asked what the state of Nigeria has done and how many constitutions it practices. This is central to the issue. Nigeria operates under one constitution, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). This supreme law guarantees fundamental rights to all citizens, including the right to life (Section 33) and the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion (Section 38). However, twelve northern states have implemented Sharia penal codes alongside the national constitution. This creates a de facto legal duality where state-sanctioned religious laws can, in practice, override constitutional protections. This is the very conflict Senator Cruz’s legislation seeks to address, sanctioning Nigerian officials who enforce these parallel systems, not Muslims practicing their faith.
Regarding people killed in the name of blasphemy and the state’s response:
The Tragic Reality: People have been killed through both extrajudicial mob violence and state-sanctioned sentences. The case of Deborah Yakubu in 2022 is a stark example. She was a Christian student beaten to death and burned by a mob after being accused of blasphemy on WhatsApp. Arrests were made, but the case has dragged on in court with many suspects released or granted bail, fostering a chilling sense of impunity.
State Inaction and Complicity:
The state’s response is often weak, delayed, or non-existent. Mob attackers are rarely prosecuted to conviction, and some individuals have been sentenced to death for blasphemy under Sharia codes, such as Yahaya Sharif-Aminu in Kano State in 2020. His death sentence was only commuted after years of international outcry and appeals. More recently, in 2023, a Bauchi court sentenced a man to death for similar charges, highlighting how these laws embolden vigilantes and perpetuate fear. Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission has documented over 50 blasphemy-related incidents since 2010, many unresolved.
Senator Cruz’s bill does not seek to tell Muslims how to practices their faith in private. It targets officials who enforce a parallel legal system that contravenes Nigeria’s constitution and international human rights obligations, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which Nigeria ratified. When state authorities arrest, try, and sentence a citizen to death for blasphemy or fail to protect them from mobs, it is not an act of private religious devotion. It is state-sponsored persecution. The question is not whether Sharia is sacred to Muslims, but whether any government should have the power to legally execute someone for insulting a religion. In a country that is a signatory to international human rights covenants and has a constitution guaranteeing freedom of conscience, the answer must be no. Senator Cruz is right to use the tools of U.S. foreign policy, including targeted sanctions, to hold accountable state officials whose actions directly enable this violence and persecution. This is not about religious intolerance. It is about defending the universal principle that no one should live in fear of their government for what they believe or say. If we truly value Sharia as a way of life, let’s ensure it is not weaponized by the state to end lives.” Chioma Kate Unini, Editor, TheNigeriaLawyer.
“Genocide is not a contest of body counts. It is not about how many die. It is about why they die. The Fulani militia that burn Christian villages in Benue or Plateau do not ask names. They ask about religion. They do not attack to steal. They attack to cleanse. That is the truth. To pretend otherwise is to help the killers. To explain away their acts is to join their intent. Obfuscation serves evil. It distorts the moral compass of a people. It makes the truth look like politics. The danger of obfuscation is that it normalises horror. When every killing is called “reprisal”, genocide loses meaning. When every massacre is called a “clash”, the state escapes blame. When every burnt church is called a “dispute”, the victims vanish into abstraction. This is how countries lose souls. History is full of such losses.” Abdul Mahmud, Esq
“You see, it’s easy to protest against help when you have never lived under the sound of gunfire. Easy to speak boldly when you have never watched people die for simply gathering to pray. But when you come to the North, you see what it truly means to carry the cross in a land where faith is a risk. This is not politics; this is survival. People are being slaughtered, families displaced, churches burnt, yet some talk like we are exaggerating. Don’t speak of peace from the comfort of your air-conditioned room when others are weeping over the ashes of their homes. And hear me well; this is not a war against any tribe or religion. It is a stand against evil, against extremism that values blood over life. So, before you talk, listen. Before you post, understand. If your words won’t heal the wounded, don’t add to their pain. Nigeria is bleeding, and silence is no longer an option. We must speak the truth until justice reigns.” Prophet Isa El-Buba.
It is hypocritical to profess that genocide against Christians in Nigeria does not exist when hundreds of people are systematically being wiped out on a daily basis simply on account of their faith. We cannot say that the terrorists are not killing indigenous people and taking over their land but it is possible to posit that their actions do not represent the true religion of Islam. And if this be the case, then we should do all things possible to eliminate them as soon as possible. If we are unwilling or unable to do this, anyone who is able and willing to do it deserves the support and encouragement of all. Wherever terrorists operate, whether in the North or South, whether as Christians or Muslims, so long as they pose a threat to the unity and peace of our land, the duty of the government is to combat them and to eliminate them. This is a sacred responsibility imposed upon the government by section 14 of our Constitution. We do not need President Donald Trump to tell us this if we are indeed serious about the fight against insecurity. We prolong the issue if we live in denial.
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