Section 214 (1) of the 1999 Constitution states that the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) shall be the only police force in Nigeria (Flanz Aug. 1999, 134; ICNL 10 Apr. 2003). A solicitor at the International Centre for Nigerian Law (ICNL) explained, in correspondence with the Research Directorate, that the "Sharia Police does not exist" and that the phrase "Sharia Police" was used inaccurately by the press to describe the hisbah, who are the "monitors of compliance" of sharia law (10 Apr. 2003). He further stated that, although warrants and arrests are issued only by the NPF, the hisbah may apprehend a suspect but must hand them over to the police (ICNL 10 Apr. 2003).

Various sources refer to the hisbah as vigilante groups (CRF 11 Apr. 2003; ACCORD/UNHCR Nov. 2002, 162; International Religious Freedom Report 2001 26 Oct. 2001, Sec. III) that, as a result of the "lax" attitude of the police (Peters and Barends Sept. 2001, 5; see also ICHRP 2002, 2, 10), emerged in the northern Muslim states to enforce sharia laws (ACCORD/UNHCR Nov. 2002). The Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria (SCSN) reportedly stated that "'the Hisbah group are an indispensable vehicle for the proper implementation of Sharia as its indomitable vanguard'" and that "'[t]he Hisbah is to Sharia what the police is to any government'" (Vanguard 2 July 2001). As well, the SCSN reportedly asked the federal government not to interfere in the activities of local sharia committees and insisted that the hisbah groups are meant to "'complement the police in their statutory duties and are not its rivals'" (ibid.).

Different Muslim states have allowed hisbah groups to operate with varying degrees of power (ICHRP 2002). For example, Anambra State enacted the Vigilant Service Act of 2000 to provide for "'the registration of vigilante groups in communities and for related purposes'" (ibid.). The Act authorizes vigilante groups to question and apprehend suspicious individuals, patrol streets, maintain security barricades and enter and search compounds (ibid.). A publication by the Center for Religious Freedom (CRF) entitled The Talibanziation of Nigeria describes measures taken by the Zamfara State government to establish a vigilante system by appointing the Joint Islamic Aid Group (Yanagji), "an organization separate from the police," to "monitor public and private behavior, enforce adherence to sharia, prosecute alleged offenders, and take punishment into their own hands" (2002, 39). Other examples of states sanctioning vigilantism include Kano State, where the deputy state governor reportedly led a raid by hisbah groups on bars in the city; in Jigawa State, governor Saminu Turaki reportedly instituted a state-wide sharia enforcement committee with powers to arrest and detain alleged violators of sharia; and Katsina State sanctioned a vigilante group called Rundunar Adalci, which has "'arrested'" people for playing music (CRF 2002, 40).

Regarding jurisdiction, a solicitor at the ICNL stated that "[i]t is not possible for an organ of one State Government to do anything in another state. Sharia is state law and very controversial at that. Even within Sharia states, jurisdiction is fiercely guarded" (10 Apr. 2003).

The Nigerian country profile in the Final Report on the 8th European Country of Origin Information Seminar, organized by the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation (ACCORD) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), states the following:

Non-Muslims would rarely choose to be tried by the Sharia magistrates, except in cases where the complicated Sharia evidence rules would count in favour of that particular defendant. Choosing a Sharia court in order to avoid being sent to prison is also conceivable.

It is possible to avoid the application of Sharia law by moving to another state where Sharia law is not applied. If one has committed a crime which is also punishable under the Northern penal code and the Southern criminal law, one would obviously be charged under these laws, but another state would not prosecute for actions punishable only under the Sharia penal code of a Northern State (Nov. 2002, 164).

For additional information on the above-mentioned topic, please consult the April 2003 Research Directorate Issue Paper, "Nigeria: State Protection," and the report by Kole Shettima and Innocent Chukwuma entitled "Crime and Human Rights in Nigeria."

Published by the International Council on Human Rights Policy (ICHRP), it can be consulted online at http://www.ichrp.org/ac/excerpts/107.doc. "Crime and Human Rights in Nigeria" was researched and written as one of several background papers commissioned by the ICHRP for the publication Crime, Public Order and Human Rights, which will be released in the fall of 2003.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation/United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (ACCORD/UNHCR). November 2002. "Nigeria. Country Report." Final Report on the 8th European Country of Origin Information Seminar, 28-29 June 2002, Vienna. The report is based on presentations by Enrique Restoy, Nigeria Researcher, Amnesty International London, and Heinz Jockers, Institute for African Studies, Hamburg, on 28 June 2002.

Center for Religious Freedon (CRF). 11 April 2003. Correspondence with senior fellow.

_____. 2002. The Talibanization of Nigeria: Sharia Law and Religious Freedom. Washington, DC: Center for Religious Freedom, Freedom House.

Flanz, Gisbert, H. August 1999. "Federal Republic of Nigeria." Constitutions of the Countries of the World. Vol. 14. Edited by Gisbert H. Flanz. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications.

International Centre for Nigerian Law (ICNL). 10 April 2003. Correspondence received from a solicitor in the Legal Support Department.

International Council on Human Rights Policy (ICHRP). 2002. Kole Shettima and Innocent Chukwuma. "Crime and Human Rights in Nigeria." http://www.ichrp.org/ac/excerpts/107.doc [Accessed 11 Apr. 2003]

Peters, Ruud and Barends, Maartens. September 2001. The Reintroducation of Islamic Criminal Law in Northern Nigeria: A Study Conducted on Behalf of the European Commission. http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/eidhr/pdf/islamic-criminal-law-nigeria_en.pdf [Accessed 10 Apr. 2003]

International Religious Freedom Report 2001. 26 October 2001. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5687pf.htm [Accessed 14 Apr. 2003]

Vanguard. 2 July 2001. Leon Usigbe. "Sharia Council Cautions FG Over Local Enforcement." http://vanguardngr.com/news/articles/2001/July-02072001/nn4010701.htm [Accessed 10 Apr. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Africa Research Bulletin

IRB Databases

NEXIS

Internet sites, including:

Africa Confidential

Africa Online

AllAfrica.com

Amnesty International (AI)

BBC Africa

Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN)

Daily Times Online [Lagos]

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

International Coalition for Religious Freedom

Motherland Nigeria

Nigeria Daily

U.S. Department of State

Vanguard

World News Connection (WNC)

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