U.S. Congressman Riley Moore has criticised former Kano State Governor and Nigerian politician Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, accusing him of complicity in the persecution and death of Christians following his administration’s introduction of Sharia law in 2000.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Moore wrote:
“Governor do you care to comment on your own complicity in the death of Christians? You instituted Sharia law. You signed the law that makes so-called blasphemy punishable by death.”
His remarks were accompanied by a screenshot of a BBC News report dated November 26, 2000, titled “Kano introduces full Sharia law.” The article, written by Barnaby Phillips, reported that Kano State, under Kwankwaso’s leadership, was bringing the Islamic legal code into full effect, joining other northern Nigerian states such as Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Yobe, Jigawa, and Borno.
The BBC report noted that Sharia law had been formally launched in Kano at a rally attended by hundreds of thousands of people, though the legal provisions were only fully implemented months later. The story also highlighted that Governor Kwankwaso had come under “tremendous pressure to follow the example of other northern states” in adopting full Sharia law.
