Islamic morality police in Kano state are to resume raids on betting shops following a supreme court ruling on gambling.
The Nigerian Supreme Court quashed a 2005 law Friday that established a national lottery commission and legalised sports betting and gambling.
The court ruled gambling regulation is a matter for state governments.
Kano State is one of 12 predominantly Muslim Nigerian states in which Islamic sharia is used alongside federal law.
Director General of the Kano Hisbah, Abba Sufi in an interview with AFP said, “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.
The Hisbah is a state unit that polices Sharia law in Kano, northern Nigeria’s biggest city.
Last month Hisbah operatives raided and closed dozens of football betting shops across the city which they said were promoting gambling, which is prohibited under sharia.
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.
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