‘Remove Sharia From Constitution Or Preside Over Nigeria’s Breakup’ Group Tells National Assembly
An Igbo socio cultural group, Ndi Igbo Worldwide Union has issued a strong warning to the National Assembly, demanding the removal of Sharia provisions from Nigeria’s Constitution or risk overseeing the eventual breakup of the country.
The group declared that ongoing tensions surrounding Sharia criminal law have pushed the country toward what it described as an existential national test.
In a press statement signed by its President, Benjamin I. Nwankwo, and Secretary, Chief Charles Edemuzo, the organisation said Nigeria had reached a critical turning point, stressing that “the time for ambiguity is over.”
According to the group, recent opposition by Islamic authorities to calls for the repeal of Sharia criminal law has exposed deeper constitutional and political contradictions within the Nigerian state.
The statement said, “The recent push-back by Islamic authorities against Mr. Riley Moore’s call to repeal Sharia criminal law exposes a bitter truth—the Nigerian state, in its current configuration, is no longer sustainable.”
The union argued that the controversy highlights structural realities embedded in Nigeria’s legal framework, noting that “Nigeria enshrines Sharia in its Constitution and, as a ranking member of the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC), cannot simply erase it overnight.”
It added that attempts to impose a unified legal order without constitutional restructuring would fail, stating that “any proposal to impose a uniform common law system without first dismantling the 1999 constitution is a non-starter,” and warning that “those pretending otherwise are living in denial.”
The organisation maintained that the coexistence of dual legal systems undermines national unity, declaring that “two legal codes cannot coexist in a serious, modern nation.”
According to the statement, legislators must decide whether to “remove Sharia from the Constitution and preserve peace” or “ignore the writing on the wall and preside over a fracture of the Nigerian state.”
