The Ndigbo Worldwide Union has endorsed a recommendation from United States lawmakers urging Nigeria to expunge Sharia and blasphemy provisions from its Constitution, warning that maintaining two parallel legal systems threatens national cohesion.
“Two Legal Systems Cannot Coexist”
In a statement jointly signed by President Benjamin I. Nwankwo and Secretary Chief Charles Edemuzo, the group criticised resistance to the US proposal as “official hypocrisy” and a driver of recurring violence in Northern Nigeria linked to Sharia enforcement.
The group lauded US lawmaker Riley Moore for pushing the initiative, describing it as “long overdue” and a potential pathway to ending avoidable bloodshed.
“The time for ambiguity is over. A country cannot claim to operate a common-law system while simultaneously running a full religious criminal code. Two legal systems cannot coexist in a serious nation,” the statement said.
Constitutional Contradiction Threatens Unity
Ndigbo Worldwide Union highlighted that Nigeria’s constitutional entrenchment of Sharia, alongside its membership in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, creates a structural contradiction that undermines national unity.
The statement challenged Northern leaders to either embrace a uniform, egalitarian common-law framework for all citizens or pursue a separate Islamic political arrangement.
“Pretending otherwise is denial. The status quo is dead,” the group warned.
Historical Abuses Highlight Urgency
The group cited the killing of Deborah Samuel and the ongoing captivity of Leah Sharibu as stark reminders of the dangers posed by religious extremism and legal inequality.
“The National Assembly is at its moment of truth. Remove Sharia from the Constitution and preserve peace, or ignore the warning signs and preside over a national rupture. There is no middle ground. Nigeria has a choice. The clock is ticking, and history will remember who acted—and who failed,” the statement added.
