By Oto Drama, PhD
THE delicate fabric of Nigeria’s federalism is currently being stretched to a breaking point by a glaring legal and moral contradiction: the aggressive enforcement of Sharia penal codes in 12 northern states, juxtaposed against their reliance on “sin taxes” generated from the very substances they prohibit.
As the U.S. government ramps up sanctions against individuals linked to regional instability, a growing chorus of advocates is demanding that this accountability extend to the high-ranking political and religious figures who provide the ideological and legislative cover for these systemic violations.
*The Hisbah Crackdown: Economic Sabotage Under the Guise of Piety*
In states like Kano, Zamfara, and Yobe, the Hisbah Board—an Islamic moral police force—has intensified its campaign against alcoholic beverages. In just the first two months of 2026, thousands of crates of beer and assorted liquors, worth hundreds of millions of Naira, have been publicly crushed by bulldozers.
In Kano: In late 2025 and January 2026, Hisbah officials intercepted multiple trucks in transit from southern Nigeria, destroying over 30 trailer loads of beer.
In Yobe: Local vendors have faced jail time and the destruction of inventory worth hundreds of thousands of Naira, with officials citing “mental clarity” and religious prohibition as justification. These actions are not merely religious observances; they are acts of economic sabotage against legitimate businesses that operate under the federal laws of Nigeria.
*The “Forbidden” Revenue: Bingeing on Alcohol Taxes*
The most striking hypocrisy lies in the treasury. While the 12 Sharia states—Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, and Gombe—declare alcohol Haram (forbidden), they do not reject their share of the Value Added Tax (VAT) generated from its sale elsewhere.
Data indicates that these Sharia states are allocated roughly 30% of the revenue from alcohol sales across Nigeria, despite accounting for less than 3% of its recorded consumption.
Essentially, the same governors who authorize the destruction of beer trucks are using the tax proceeds from those very products to fund their state operations and even the salaries of the Hisbah officials who carry out the destruction. This “tax bingeing” directly contradicts the moral high ground these administrations claim to hold.
*Constitutional Defiance*: *Section 10 vs. *The Sharia Bloc*
The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria is clear. Section 10 states: “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.” By establishing Sharia as a parallel criminal legal system, funded by the state and enforced by state-sanctioned militias (Hisbah), critics argue that these 12 states have effectively seceded from the secular framework of the Nigerian union. This defiance has created a “state within a state,” where constitutional rights to trade and personal liberty are secondary to religious dictates.
*A Call for Global Accountability*: The “Moore Bill” and Beyond
The international community has begun to take notice. The Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 (H.R. 7457), recently introduced in the U.S. Congress by Representative Riley Moore and Chris Smith, seeks to hold Nigerian officials accountable for religious persecution and mass atrocities.
However, for these sanctions to be truly “world-class” and effective, the net must be cast wider. There is a burgeoning demand to include influential figures who have historically fanned the flames of religious division or overseen the implementation of these discriminatory laws.
The Sultan of Sokoto, as the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims, his influence over the Sharia discourse is absolute. Accountability must include ensuring his office promotes genuine interfaith coexistence rather than just rhetorical tolerance.
Nasir El-Rufai, a former Governor of Kaduna known for his controversial “incitement” rhetoric and his role in the polarization of Kaduna State during his tenure.
Bala Mohammed, current Bauchi Governor has continued state-led enforcement of laws that target minority commercial interests, after confirming on a national television invited Fulani terrorists from over Africa to occupy Nigeria. Also Ibrahim Shekarau and Ahmad Sani Yerima both former governors of Kano and Kaduna States respectively
are known architects of the Sharia movement whose legislative legacies continue to undermine Section 10 of the Constitution. The U.S. Congress is encouraged to expand the “Moore Bill” to include these individuals in the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, resulting in immediate visa bans and asset freezes.
*A Call for Executive Sovereignty and Law Enforcement*
The Tinubu administration must confront the reality that the international community’s patience with Nigeria’s internal insecurity has reached its breaking point. With the introduction of the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026 in the U.S. Congress, the world is signaling that the era of treating “herder-farmer clashes” as mere communal disputes is over.
The Nigerian government must immediately pivot to a policy of “Total Enforcement” regarding anti-open grazing laws. To allow nomadic militias to continue flouting land use acts is not just a failure of domestic policy; it is an invitation for international sanctions that will further cripple our national economy and diplomatic standing.
The President must bridge the gap between Nigerian law and global security standards by treating violent violators of anti-grazing mandates with the same severity as insurgents. If the United States is moving to classify these militias as terrorist organizations, Nigeria cannot afford to be seen as a sanctuary for them. Every unauthorized incursion into farming communities and every instance of illegal armed movement must be met with the full kinetic power of the state.
Security agencies should be empowered to treat any organization—whether cultural or pastoral—found to be coordinating these violent incursions as a direct threat to the sovereignty of the Federal Republic, ensuring they are prosecuted under the Terrorism Prevention Act.
Finally, the federal government must prioritize the protection of its settled agrarian populations over the traditional rights of nomadic transit, which have become a Trojan horse for mass displacement and religious persecution.
Establishing a clear, non-negotiable deadline for the cessation of open grazing is no longer optional; it is a prerequisite for national survival. President Tinubu has the opportunity to lead a historic transition to modern ranching, but this transition must be enforced with iron-clad resolve. By dismantling the networks of impunity that have allowed these groups to operate, the administration can restore the rule of law and prove to both the Nigerian people and the global community that the state’s monopoly on force is absolute.
*President Tinubu’s last chance*
The Nigerian abdicating presidency and the docile national assembly cannot forever remain silent observers while the constitutional rights of its citizens are trampled. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must move beyond political diplomacy and initiate the prosecution of those who undermine the 1999 Constitution.
Enforcing the law against “religious entrepreneurs” is not an attack on faith; it is a defense of the Republic. Until there is a cost for hypocrisy, the “sin taxes” will continue to flow into the pockets of those who seek to destroy the very commerce that generates them.
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