Following a Supreme Court ruling on gambling, the Islamic morality police known as (Hisbah) have vowed to resume raids on betting shops across the state......READ THE FULL STORY>>.....READ THE FULL STORY>>
The Hisbah is a state unit that polices Sharia law in Kano, northern Nigeria’s biggest city.
Last month, its operatives raided and closed dozens of football betting shops across the city which they said were promoting gambling, which according to them is prohibited under Sharia.
However, raids were halted after the National Lottery Commission protested that betting on football was legal under Nigerian federal law under the 2005 Lottery Act, Sufi said.
Recall that the Nigerian Supreme Court Friday quashed a 2005 law that established a national lottery commission and legalized sports betting and gambling.
Kano State is one of 12 predominantly Muslim Nigerian states in which Islamic Sharia are used alongside federal law.
In its verdicts, the court ruled that gambling regulation is a matter for state governments.
But while reacting after the verdict was handed down, the Director General of the Kano Hisbah, Abba Sufi was quoted as saying; “We will resume our clampdown on betting shops with renewed determination since betting is illegal under Kano state Sharia law.
“With this verdict, the controversy on who should be in charge of lottery legislation between the federal government and state governments has been settled.
“We in Kano have frowned at the lottery law, because it gave legal backing to gambling which is clearly prohibited in Islam.”
According to Sufi, the raids followed repeated complaints by parents of children whose love of football teams had led them into gambling.
“And the harsh economic climate is pushing more people into this football gambling, hoping to make easy money and becoming hooked to the vice,” Sufi argued.
