The Gap

Why hisbah police operate in states across Nigeria

Why hisbah police operate in states across Nigeria

It is always said that “whenever you are in Rome, behave like the Romans.” This maxim also applies to Nigerians from the southern part of the country and foreigners travelling to the northern axis of the country. As a result of the sharp differences in culture, religion, and language, non-indigenes residing in northern Nigeria are warned to be wary of their behaviour, as well as the presence of the hisbah police.

The hisbah police or hisbah corps, as it is referred to in some states (countries) and its sub-nationals, have been institutionalised and cannot, therefore, be equated with local vigilante or militia groups. Instead, it is a quasi-law-enforcement agency that performs limited roles.

So, what is the hisbah police? Why was it created? How many states of Nigeria are they functional?

Meaning of hisbah police

Hisbah police

To understand who the hisbah police are, it is imperative to understand what hisbah means, as this will provide a clear understanding of the main subject matter.

Hisbah is an Islamic doctrine which emphasises upholding “community morals” based on the Quranic injunction to “enjoin good and forbid wrong.” For Muslims, it is an obligation to do what is good or right and to prevent or denounce any action or behaviour that is bad or wrong. The determinant of what is “good” and what is “wrong” is based on sharia (Islamic law).

The hisbah police are, therefore, a religious police force responsible for enforcing sharia law and Islamic religious norms in places where it is domiciled. Hisbah police are deployed in places where the residents practice the major religion Islam. According to the Oxford Islamic Studies Online, Hisbah was not just a doctrine during the pre-modern Islam era but became an office charged with “maintenance of public law and order and supervising market transactions”, covering salat prayers, “mosque maintenance, community matters, and market dealings.

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It is quite evident that this force has existed for centuries in different parts of the world where Islam is practised. Although their appellations may vary, the hisbah police force is present in majority Muslim sub-national, regions or countries that practice either the Sunni or Shi’a (Shiite) branches of Islam.

According to sharia law, hisbah is supposed to apply only to Muslims. However, non-Muslims living in predominantly Muslim areas have sometimes been subjected to the application of the law and its enforcement by the hisbah police.

Duties of hisbah police

hisbah police operation

The responsibilities of the hisbah police are heavily influenced by religion and culture, which is mainly conservative. They promote Islamic virtue and discourage vices that are antithetical to the religion, as well as the culture of the ethnic group of that particular area. They are expected to intervene when another believer is deemed not to be acting accordingly.

Their major responsibilities include:

Implementation and enforcement of sharia law

This is perhaps the biggest and most important function of the hisbah police. The hisbah police monitor and implement sharia law in all facets of the area they have jurisdiction over and ensure proper compliance with the laws by all individuals, regardless of their status in society.

Sanitising the public of all social vices

One of the primary roles of the hisbah police in places where they have jurisdiction is to prevent and control moral decadence and social vices. The force is expected to take the necessary, appropriate steps to maintain an orderly society and prevent whatever vice or crime that is prohibited by sharia.

Such roles include the arrest of criminals and handing them over to the appropriate law enforcement agencies, monitoring dress code, and people’s social and business interaction.

Enforcement of the faithful’s presence during prayers

One of the main duties of the hisbah police is to prevent the absence of Muslims in the mosque during the five main prayer times of the day. The enforcement of this duty by the hisbah police is much more prominent during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, where Muslims are obligated to fast from sunrise to sunset and are to attend prayers at specific times.

Destruction of forbidden objects

The hisbah police are empowered to destroy objects that are deemed to be haram (forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law) and subsequently banned in the societies practising sharia law. Examples of forbidden subjects include all types of alcoholic beverages and certain musical instruments.

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Disruption of forbidden activities

Certain activities such as the open association of unmarried members of the opposite gender, the mixing of the sexes on the public transport system and in classes, consumption of alcohol, the performance of music and films, and watching of the same are deemed unedifying, the display of public affection my dating or married couples, gambling, and the wearing of certain clothes by women such as trousers and revealing clothes are abhorred in Islam.

It is, therefore, the responsibility of the hisbah police to prevent the occurrence by disrupting these activities at public events and places.

Counselling and resolution of disputes

Also on the list of functions for the hisbah police to perform are counselling and resolving disputes. This is done by verbally reprimanding violators of sharia law, providing counselling to law offenders and other members of society, reconciling warring parties and settling disputes, engaging in marriage counselling, match-making for potential couples, and helping the needy in society.

Maintenance of law and order in society

Although they are not the conventional police force, the hisbah police are sometimes called upon to help maintain law and order in the places where they are deployed. Some of the activities in which the hisbah police complements the regular law-enforcement agencies include controlling traffic in dense areas, tackling drug control, and arresting petty criminals. However, the hisbah police are not allowed to prosecute anyone caught violating the law. This will be expanded on shortly.

They also help in assisting with disaster response operations and management.

Religious functions

Since it is mainly religious police, the hisbah police are expected to undertake some religious activities. These activities include but are not limited to the following: evangelisation through sermons, conversion of people to Islam, maintaining order and provision of First Aid to people at religious celebrations, and repairing mosques.

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Structure of hisbah police in Nigeria

Hisbah police

At its inception, the hisbah police in Nigeria began as a private organisation funded by individuals, notably Islamic clerics, scholars, and philanthropists who desired to uphold the tenets and values of Islam.

It, however, gained state attention when some states of the federation, which have Islam as the main religion, began implementing sharia law in the year 2000, following the declaration by Ahmed Sani Yerima, the then-governor of Zamfara State, of the law’s introduction on 27 October 1999. By 2001, 11 other states instituted sharia law in their jurisdictions.

With the institution of sharia, there was the need for a body to ensure the full implementation of Islamic law. This then led to some of the states taking over control of the privately-formed hisbah police and then formalising them into a sub-national organisation.

In states where the hisbah police are formally instituted as an organ of the state, the organisation is referred to as the Hisbah Corps. The Hisbah Corps are under the jurisdiction of a Hisbah Board composed of government officials, conventional police officers, and religious leaders. The corps is highly decentralised, with local units supervised by committees comprising government officials and select citizens who are prominent in the areas of operation.

The core personnel of the hisbah who carry out the enforcement are made up mostly of locally-recruited young men, who usually patrol their neighbourhoods and mete out punishment to suspected violators. Most hisbah members were recruited at the local level by traditional leaders and local government officials, who submit the lists of names to their state government for employment. A good number of them are young men with a low level of formal education and have no background in law, law enforcement, investigation, and arrest procedures.

These officers are provided with an identifiable uniform, although the design and colour of such uniform vary from state to state. The hisbah board also has an identifiable office, leadership, and organisational structure at both state and local government levels. It is imperative at this point to state that the structure of the hisbah organisations in states are not the same; they are unique and distinctive in their way.

But in some states, the hisbah board and police have not been formally institutionalized; yet, they get tacit endorsement and support from their state governments.

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Also, as mentioned earlier, the hisbah police are not permitted to arrest and prosecute any law offender caught violating either the sharia law or the conventional state laws (the constitution and other laws of the federation). Instead, what the personnel of the hisbah police are to do is whenever they catch any lawbreaker, they are to arrest and immediately hand over such an offender to the police or other relevant law enforcement agency. They are also not permitted to carry firearms, instead, they are empowered to carry non-lethal weapons such as batons and sticks.

States where hisbah police operate in Nigeria

The hisbah police operate in the following states in Nigeria (either in full or partial capacity):

  • Zamfara State
  • Kano State
  • Sokoto State
  • Bauchi State
  • Jigawa State
  • Yobe State
  • Katsina State
  • Kebbi State
  • Borno State
  • Gombe State
  • Kaduna State
  • Niger State

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Gabriel is a trained political scientist, and a qualified and versatile communications professional who has worked as a journalist and Public Relations executive. He has a knack for content creation and development and is a keen digital native interested in all things good.
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