Kwankwasosays Sharia law is the work of Nigeria’s enemies and denounces the US Congress blacklist.

Former presidential candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabi’u Kwankwaso, has responded to a proposed bill in the U.S. Congress that seeks to sanction him over alleged severe violations of religious freedom.

Speaking on Arise Television’s “Prime Time” on Monday, Kwankwaso described the move as the handiwork of an indigenous enemy.

DAILY POST notes that U.S. lawmakers have introduced a new bill intended to increase accountability for human‑rights abuses in Nigeria.

The legislation, called the Nigeria Religious Freedom and Accountability Act of 2026, includes provisions for possible sanctions against Fulani militias and Kwankwaso.

Reacting to the development, the former Kano State governor said, “My name was submitted by our enemies here in this country to the US Congress.

“I can tell you the irony of the whole thing. When Sharia came from Zamfara in the year 2000, I really wanted to study, and even as a Muslim to understand it.

“Some people were too much in a hurry. They wouldn’t wait, and they believe that I was not keen, and somebody wrote a private bill to the State Assembly. Before you know it, they follow the due process and submitted it for signing.

“We studied it, and we realized that it was very important. And we have not seen anything there that actually should stop us. And in any case, even if I didn’t sign, the implication is, within no time, it will become law if I don’t sign.

“So while people were angry at that time with me that I wasn’t enthusiastic, I didn’t submit the bill and so on and so forth, now, fast forwarded to 2026, somebody is blaming me for Sharia in Kano.”