Hisbah Groups 



Origins

Hisbah groups are Islamic vigilante groups that support adherence to Shari'a which several states in northern Nigeria have adopted in recent years. The Shari'a Penal Code was first re-introduced into northern Nigeria in Zamfara State in 2000. Thereafter, other States followed.
Shari'a law has been in force in some parts of northern Nigeria since the colonial days when it was known as Alkali Courts. Although the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria stipulates that states and local governments may not adopt a state religion it also provides that "state and local governments may elect to use Islamic (Shari'a) customary law and courts"

 

Location / Main area of operation

By 2002, twelve states had adopted some form of Shari’a into their criminal legislation: Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara. The Hisbah groups are active in at least Kaduna,Kano, Katsina, and Zamfara states.


Objectives

The role of the Hisbah Groups is to ensure observance of Shari’a Law among the population and to report any breaches, even if the only police force permitted under Nigeria's constitution is the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
According to Human Rights Watch, the creation of the Hisbah was popular in some quarters because of a deep distrust in the Nigerian federal police force, both among the general public and among state politicians.
In some cases, these groups have the authority to make arrests but must relinquish suspects to the police. They also serve as traffic wardens and help regulate commercial activity in the marketplace.
The Task Force on Shari'a Implementation in the Bauchi States, consider the Hisbah organisation to be the backbone of the Shari'a judicial system. The main function of the organisation is to assist the Nigeria Police Force in the duties of law enforcement.
According to Mallam Zakari Ya’u, an activist based in Kaduna, the introduction of Shari'a in some nothern states could be linked to the same reasons that led to the creation of vigilante groups in southern states. He states that: “They (the people) want justice. Government for them has failed in the area of justice and they want alternative means. They lack civic education. Shari'a is a rural-based phenomenon...It is different responses to failure of states to meet the basic needs of the citizen.”
There are persistent reports of brutal attacks upon women who are allegedly inappropriately dressed, the destruction of alcohol merchants' business, severe punishments for those who insult Islam, but there have not been any reports of killings by hisbah members.

 

Number of Members


Unknown.

Type : National

The Hisbah Groups are a national armed groups operating in States which have adopted the Shari'a Law.

Conflict Status : Active

The Hisbah Groups are active, even if Human Rights Watch notes that since 2003, abuses by the Hisbah appear to have decreased.

Structure of the organization

According to Human Rghts Watch: “The Hisbah operate openly and are easily recognizable: they are provided with uniforms, vehicles, and an office, usually by the local or state government. Moreover, in some states, the government pays them a small salary. The Hisbah have structures at local government and state level. Some are directly supported by their local government while others, such as the Hisbah in Kaduna, claim that membership and participation are voluntary and unpaid. The Hisbah operate with the full consent and support of the state government, although the exact nature of their relationship with the state government varies and mechanisms for accountability are not always clearly defined.”
Moreover, in some States, the Hisbah follow a training program with a brief outline of their duties.
The Hisbah are mainly composed of locally recruited young men and are led by traditional and religious leaders. Members of Hisbah reportedly arm themselves with whips and sticks as well as knives.

 

Leadership

See “Structure”

External aid/Third party involvement

As already mentioned, the NPF is the only police force permitted under Nigeria's constitution. For that reason, some tensions persist between the Hisbah Groups and the NPF. Human Rights Watch states that the existence of these two parallel structures, both of which have responsibilities for enforcing law and order, has resulted in conflicts of interest. The police force is seen as a secular institution and includes both Muslims and non-Muslims. On some occasions, the conflicting interests of the police and the Hisbah have led to outright clashes.
In February, Nigeria's federal government accused the Kano State's government of seeking foreign funding to turn the Hisbah Group into a parallel police force. According to Information Minister Frank Nweke: “The Kano State Hisbah Board has, with brazen disregard for the overriding imperatives of national security, sought the assistance of foreign governments for the training of '100 jihadists' in the areas of 'intelligence' and 'practice of jihad."

 

External effects of the NSAG's armed activities

No information available on this matter.

Funding

The Hisbah groups are sponsored by state governments in the north that practice Shari’a law.

Relationship with the international community

Books

  • Florquin, Nicolas and Berman, Eric G. (eds) (2005), Armed and Aimless: Armed Groups, Guns, and Human Security in the ECOWAS Region (Geneva: Small Arms Survey), available at: link

Articles and Chapters

  • Last, Murray,"The Search for Security in Muslim Northern Nigeria." frica: Journal of the International African Institute. (2008) Vol. 78, Issue 1.

Reports and resolutions of intergovernmental organizations

  • European Commission, The Reintroducation of Islamic Criminal Law in Northern Nigeria: A Study Conducted on Behalf of the European Commission, Peters, Ruud, Barends, Maartens. September 2001, available at: link
  • United Nations, Commission on Human Rights, Civil and Political Rights, including the question of disappearances and summary executions, Extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr Philip Alston, Addendum, Mission to Nigeria, E/CN.4/2006/53/Add.4 , 7 January 2006, available at : link

 

Governmental reports

  • United States Department of State, "Nigeria." 2008 Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Washington, DC, May 2008, available at: link
  • United States Department of State, "Nigeria." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007, Washington, DC, March 2008, available at:
    link
  • Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Nigeria: Structure and size of the police force; availability of complaint mechanisms; whether there is communication between the divisions and commands across the country; whether authorities in Shari'a states can execute their warrants, make arrests and lay charges in non-Shari'a states, 31 July 2008. NGA102889.E. Online. UNHCR Refworld, available at: link
  • Research Directorate of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Nigeria State Protection, Issue Paper, April 2003, available at: link
     

Reports of think tanks and non-governmental organizations

  • Human Rights Watch (2004) “Political Shari’a’? Human Rights and Islamic Law in Northern Nigeria” Human Rights Watch Report, Vol. 16, No. 9. New York: HRW., available at: link
  • Human Rights Watch (2005) “Revenge in the Name of Religion: The Cycle of Violence in Plateau and Kano States," Human Rights Watch Report, Vol. 17, No. 8. New York: HRW. May, available at link
  • Human Rights Watch (2005) "Rest in Pieces": Police Torture and Deaths in Custody in Nigeria, Human Rights Watch . Report, Vol. 17, No. 11. New York: HRW. July, available at: link
  • International Council on Human Rights Policy (2002), Kole Shettima and Innocent Chukwuma, "Crime and Human Rights in Nigeria.," available at: link='Crime%20and%20Human%20Rights%20in%20Nigeria'
  • Jamestown Foundation(2008) "Nigeria and the Threat of al-Qaeda Terrorism." , Bestman Wellington. Terrorism Monitor. Vol. 6, Issue 12. link
  • Heinrich Boll Foundation (2003) “Shari’a Implementation in Nigeria: Issues & Challenges on Women’s Rights And Access to Justice," Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan, Abiola Afolabi-Akiyode (eds), Women’s Aid Collective, Lagos, 2003, available at: link'a%20Implementation%20in%20Nigeria.pdf, accessed on September 2008.
  • Center for Law Enforcement Education (2004) “The poor and informal policing in Nigeria, , Etannibi E.O. Alemika and Innocent C. Chukwuma, A Report on Poor Peoples’ Perceptions and Priorities on Safety, Security and Informal Policing in A2J Focal States in Nigeria, available at: link
  • Small Arms Survey (2007) “Small Arms, Armed Violence, and Insecurity in Nigeria “Jennifer Hazen and Jonas Horner, Occasional Paper No. 20 December 2007, available at link

 

Press Information (in chronological order)

  • Crackdown on Nigeria Shari'a group," BBC, 10 February 2006, available at: link
     

Interviews

Internet resources

Statements of the armed group

Agreements involving armed groups