Release International

The northern state of Kano stands accused of seeking help from abroad to turn vigilante Sharia law enforcers into jihadists.

National intelligence has uncovered evidence that Kano was looking to foreign Islamic governments to train these militants in 'intelligence' and the 'practice of jihad' or holy war.

The national government in Abuja has announced a ban on the vigilantes who are known collectively as Hisbah. The authorities claim that Hisbah are creating interreligious tension and taking over a law enforcement role which belongs to national government.

Kano has now responded by filing a legal application to Nigeria's Supreme Court to try to lift the ban on Hisbah, according to Reuters.

Hisbah groups arrest and detain individuals found to be violating Sharia or Islamic law and have used violence to enforce it. Christians have been a particular target because, the church believes, Hisbah is bent on eradicating Christianity from northern Nigeria.

Christian leaders in Zamfara state, which is also under Sharia law, say the national government must intervene to stop routine persecution of non-Muslims. 'The [state] government has always told us that they will enforce the tenets of Islam on all who live in the state and, if we don't like it, we can go to hell,' Rev James Obi from Gusau told Compass. 'Unless the Nigerian government acts to protect us, we are hopeless here.'

Meanwhile, Nigeria has not been immune to the violence which has flared throughout the Muslim world since the publication of cartoons depicting Mohammed.

Sources report that 'up to 100 people', most of them Christian, may have died in riots across the country. In Maiduguri, Borno state, at least 30 church buildings were destroyed on February 18 and 58 people were killed, including Father Matthew Gajere who died in St Rita's Catholic Church.

• Pray for wisdom for President Olusegun Obasanjo and his ministers as they wrestle with the question of how to limit the activities of Islamist extremists.
• Pray for all those people affected by violence in Nigeria since the publication of cartoons deemed offensive to the Muslim world.

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