§10 Prohibition of State Religion — CFRN 1999

The Text

The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.

Open problem with this section

Issue · Between 1999 and 2002, twelve northern States (Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, Gombe) adopted Sharia criminal codes through State laws and established hisbah enforcement bodies funded from State treasuries — a de facto adoption of religion by State governments. No constitutional case has reached the Supreme Court to test §10 against these laws; the federal government has chosen not to litigate.

What it would take to fix · §10 itself does not need amendment; it needs enforcement. A successful §10 challenge would require the Attorney-General of the Federation (or a citizen with standing under §46) to sue at the Supreme Court under §232(1) seeking a declaration that specific State Sharia statutes violate §10. Alternatively, clarification language could be added by Constitution Alteration Bill under §9(2) — 2/3 of both chambers of NASS plus 2/3 of State HoAs (politically near-impossible given the 12 adopting States).

General §9(2) procedure: Per §9(2): a Constitution Alteration Bill must pass each chamber of the National Assembly by a two-thirds majority of all members, then be concurred in by the Houses of Assembly of at least two-thirds (24) of the 36 States, then assented to by the President within 30 days (§9(3A)).

How to cite this section

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), §10 — Prohibition of State Religion. Retrieved from The Republic, therepublic.extrafemi.com/constitution/general-provisions/10.

Source · Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended · §10