The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned in the strongest possible terms the planned unveiling of the ?Nigeria National Halal Economy Strategy: A Pathway to a $1 Trillion Economy? by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, describing the move as a blatant violation of Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which forbids the adoption of any religion as a state religion.

In a statement released Monday in Abuja, the association expressed shock that the Presidency could openly promote an Islamic-branded economic initiative under the banner of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, without debate or authorization from the National Assembly; the constitutionally empowered body to make laws governing the economy.

HURIWA described the ?Halal Economy Strategy? as ?a constitutional abomination, a political provocation, and a dangerous flirtation with theocratic tendencies that could fracture Nigeria?s fragile unity.?

The association stated that while every religious group has the right to practice and promote its faith privately, it is both illegal and immoral for the Federal Government of Nigeria to publicly endorse a religiously grounded framework; Halal, which derives directly from Islamic law?as a national economic pathway.

?What President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima are attempting to do is to rebrand the Nigerian economy under an Islamic moral and commercial code. That is not only unconstitutional, it is reckless, insensitive, and potentially incendiary,? the statement read.

HURIWA further warned that such an initiative, launched under a Muslim-Muslim presidency and at a time when Christian communities across Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, and Taraba are still reeling from unaddressed massacres and targeted killings, sends a chilling message that the Federal Government is more concerned with promoting Islamic-aligned systems than protecting the lives and liberties of Nigerians of other faiths.

?This is not just about economics; it is about the very soul of the Republic,? HURIWA said. ?Section 10 of the Nigerian Constitution forbids the adoption of any religion as a state religion. Section 38 guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. By introducing ?Halal? as a national economic strategy, the Presidency has directly violated both provisions. That is an impeachable offence.?

The association therefore called on the National Assembly to immediately commence impeachment proceedings against President Tinubu for breaching the Constitution he swore to uphold, warning that failure to act will amount to legislative complicity in a creeping theocratic capture of Nigeria?s secular democracy.

?Nigeria is not Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, or Pakistan. We are a pluralistic federation of Muslims, Christians, and traditional believers. Any attempt to impose a religiously defined framework on the economy of such a diverse state is a declaration of war against the secular foundations of the federation,? HURIWA asserted.

The rights group also condemned the silence of prominent Christian leaders and organizations, including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), and influential clerics such as Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, urging them to rise in defense of constitutional neutrality and religious balance.

?It is time for CAN, the CBCN, and even prominent cultural and traditional intellectuals like Professor Wole Soyinka to speak up. When the government begins to hold economic policy meetings under Islamic nomenclature, it is not just Christianity that is under threat?it is the entire structure of our secular democracy,? HURIWA warned.

The association also criticized the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, for what it described as ?his unholy silence and legislative servility,? reminding him that the National Assembly derives its power to regulate the economy directly from the Constitution, not from presidential decrees.

?By allowing the Presidency to usurp legislative powers in economic matters, the Senate President and his colleagues are betraying the Nigerian people. The National Assembly must rise now, defend its constitutional role, and stop this descent into religious governance,? the group declared.

HURIWA urged civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and faith-based communities (both Christian and Muslim) to resist what it called ?the dangerous politicization of faith and the Islamization of economic governance.?

The group concluded by reiterating that any federal program launched under the label ?National Halal Economy? constitutes a breach of constitutional order and must be suspended immediately.

?If this event goes ahead tomorrow, it will be remembered as the day the Tinubu administration elevated religion above law and ideology above national unity. Nigerians must not allow this constitutional sacrilege to stand,? the statement warned.

Update news