Saturday, November 23, 2024 - Islamic morality police in Kano, northern Nigeria, are set to resume their crackdown on betting shops following a Supreme Court ruling on gambling.
The court overturned the 2005 law that established a national lottery
commission and legalized sports betting and gambling, stating that regulation
of gambling falls under the jurisdiction of state governments.
Kano State, one of 12 predominantly Muslim states in Nigeria where
Islamic Sharia law operates alongside federal law, has long prohibited
gambling. “We will resume our clampdown on betting shops with renewed
determination since betting is illegal under Kano state sharia law,” said Abba
Sufi, director general of the Kano Hisbah, a unit responsible for enforcing
Sharia law in the state.
Last month, Hisbah operatives raided and shut down dozens of football
betting shops across the city, claiming they promoted gambling, which is
prohibited under Sharia law. However, the raids were halted after the National
Lottery Commission argued that the 2005 Lottery Act made football betting legal
under federal law, according to Sufi.
“With this verdict, the controversy on who should be in charge of
lottery legislation between the federal government and state governments has
been settled,” Sufi added. “We in Kano have frowned at the lottery law… because
it gave legal backing to gambling which is clearly prohibited in Islam.”
Kano is home to around 200 betting shops where customers watch
international soccer matches and horse races while placing bets, said Sydney
Emeafu, head of the National Union of Gaming and Lottery Workers (NUGLOW) in
Kano.
Sufi highlighted that the raids were prompted by complaints from parents
concerned about children who had become involved in gambling through their love
of football. “And the harsh economic climate is pushing more people into this
football gambling, hoping to make easy money and becoming hooked to the vice,”
he said.
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