A human rights organization, the End Sharia Now Campaign, has called for the immediate removal of Sharia provisions from the Nigerian Constitution, declaring that Nigeria, as a secular state, cannot continue operating under a dual legal system.
Benson Sunday, convener of the campaign, insisted that courts granting legal authority to religious doctrines must be abolished. He urged for the full enforcement of Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits the adoption of any religion as a state religion at either the federal or state level.
In a statement released to journalists, Sunday noted that 12 northern states currently operate full Sharia law systems, complete with religious police (Hisbah), enforcement of Islamic codes on dress, alcohol use, gender interaction, and religious conversion. He stressed that this issue goes beyond the North and is a national problem affecting unity and justice.
Sunday called for the removal of all Islamic and Sharia-based provisions, specifically Sections 260–264 (Sharia Court of Appeal – Federal), Sections 275–279 (Sharia Court of Appeal – State), and other provisions related to the Grand Kadi and Sharia judicial authority.
He warned that the existence of a dual legal system—secular laws for some and religious laws for others—encourages discrimination, legal inequality, and religious persecution, especially of non-Muslims and reformist Muslims. He described the current system as unconstitutional and dangerous to national cohesion.
Sunday urged civil society organizations, religious and traditional leaders, students, political representatives, and every Nigerian who values freedom to join the push for a secular, democratic, and inclusive constitution.