VAT does not know who drinks what. Every time news breaks of Hisbah, Kano State’s moral police, smashing bottles of beer, millions of people, mostly in the South, erupt in rage. Band A rage, that is. Most of the anger, I believe, is expressed by people who identify as Christians and who see the Muslim North as bad news.

The comment sections, especially on Facebook, burn hottest. The question that comes up again and again is why should states that ban the consumption of alcohol receive VAT from alcohol? I used to think this was a clever gotcha, but I no longer do. The argument rests on a moral instinct that feels good but dissipates in the face of law, economics, or basic fairness.

The claim is simple. If some states ban alcohol and even use religious agencies to seize or destroy it, they should not benefit from VAT generated from alcohol produced elsewhere. It sounds like justice. It is not. It is fiscal confusion. I do not expect this view to be popular with the permanently enraged.

VAT is not a prize awarded to states that host certain industries, but a national consumption tax collected by the Federal Government and shared using agreed constitutional formula. Once collected, the money loses memory of its origin. It stops being alcohol VAT, gambling VAT, pork VAT, nightclub VAT or interest-based banking VAT. It is just VAT.

This debate is often framed as entitlement. If you ban alcohol, you should not “chop” alcohol money. I do not think states with Hisbah and other agencies that convulse at the thought of liquor are taking alcohol money.  What they receive are statutory allocations from a common pool to which all parts of the federation contribute in different ways. No state earns VAT by permission. None. Every state receives VAT by membership; because Nigeria exists as one fiscal unit.

There is also the small matter of selective memory. If moral purity is the standard, alcohol cannot be the only issue. VAT also comes from gambling, interest-based banking, insurance tied to interest and uncertainty, pork-based food items, nightclubs, adult entertainment, lottery and media content that would give religious leaders across faiths fits. Southern states do not reject VAT because some of it comes from predatory loans, betting apps, pornography-adjacent entertainment or music and films churches regularly denounce. Moral filtering becomes impossible once the lens widens.

If we believe Nigeria should abandon pooled revenue and adopt strict derivation, the honest path is to argue for full constitutional restructuring and fiscal federalism across all sectors.

The argument also ignores economic reality. Citizens of states with alcohol aversion and moral police pay VAT outside their states every day. They travel, trade, bank, rent homes, insure assets, borrow money and work across Nigeria. VAT is paid at the point of consumption, not at that of belief. A trader buying goods in Onitsha or a traveller spending in Lagos pays VAT regardless of what their home state bans. To deny their states a share is to believe that the economy stops at state boundaries.

The noise around Hisbah and smashed beer bottles, while emotionally powerful, is a distraction. Destroying alcohol within a state is an internal regulatory choice that has nothing to do with national revenue sharing. A state can ban an activity locally without losing access to federal resources generated nationally. There is also an uncomfortable undertone that deserves honesty. The Southern position suggests that religious difference should determine fiscal worth and that some Nigerians deserve less because their moral codes are stricter or simply different. Once accepted, that idea does not stop at alcohol. It starts asking who truly belongs and on what moral terms. That is no fiscal argument.

If we believe Nigeria should abandon pooled revenue and adopt strict derivation, the honest path is to argue for full constitutional restructuring and fiscal federalism across all sectors. It is weak to single out alcohol and gambling as a special moral exception while enjoying the same system everywhere else. VAT is not a moral endorsement of how other Nigerians live. It is the price of sharing a country. Sharing a country means no group gets to redesign the national revenue framework in the image of its own theology after the money has already been collected.

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The post Hisbah, alcohol, VAT: An unpopular opinion appeared first on Frontpageng.

The Hisbah Commander-General, Dr Aminu Usman (Abu Ammar), announced this in a statement issued in Katsina on Wednesday.

He stated that nightclub owners must shut down their establishments to curb immoral practices, protect societal values, and address security concerns in the state.

“The board warned that violators would face strict penalties. Security agencies have been instructed to ensure full compliance with the order.

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“We are committed to building a morally upright society and ensuring peace and security in Katsina State,” Usman said.

He confirmed that the board has informed relevant security agencies, including the state Commissioner for Internal Security, to enforce the directive effectively.

“This move aligns with Hisbah’s broader efforts to ensure residents continue their lives in line with religious and moral standards,” he stated.

Source: NAN

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The Hisbah commander in the state, Dr Aminu Usman, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Katsina on Saturday.

According to Usman, the alcohol was seized on Monday during a city-wide patrol “to eradicate immoral behaviours and indiscipline.”

The Hisbah commander explained that the operation led to the interception of the vehicle carrying the cartons of alcohol along the state’s ring road.

“This task was supervised by Malam Nafi’u Ma’azu-Akilu, who ensured the items were transported to the board’s headquarters for further investigation.

“In a related development, the board also arraigned two women, for the fourth time, on charges of  loitering and immoral conduct.

“The women, Fatima Umar (Yargata) and Raliya Isah (Yar Ruma), are both approximately 24 years old,” the Hisbah commander disclosed.

Usman said that in spite of previous warnings and counselling, the girls failed to reform their behaviour, leading to their arraignment before a Sharia Court.

According to him, the girls pleaded guilty and were ordered to be remanded in the correctional facility until Thursday for further trial.

He called on parents, teachers, and community leaders to intensify efforts at instilling discipline and good morals among the youths.

The commander also appealed to them to continue to support the board in maintaining good morals to restore values in their communities.

Source: NAN

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The board, which made the seizure on Zaria Road in Kano, also arrested the truck driver and two other persons.

The Director-General of Kano State Hisbah Board, Alhaji Abba Sufi, made the disclosure in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the board, Mr Lawan Ibrahim-Fagge, on Wednesday in Kano.

“The truck containing over 24,000 bottles of assorted alcoholic beverages was confiscated from smugglers along Zaria Road at midnight.

“Hisbah personnel in the state have been proactive in enforcing zero-tolerance policy against smuggling of beer and other intoxicating substances into the state,” he said.

Source: NAN

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The man who lives in Doka Baici, Tofa local government area, has been arrested by the Kano State Hisbah Board on Friday.

His arrest was announced by the board in a statement issued in Kano by the Deputy Commander General, Operations, Dr Mujahid Aminudeen.

Aminudeen said that the suspect had informed officials of the board that he gave the baby a local insect killer, Otapiapia.

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“Salisu also drugged the mother of the baby, Sa’ade, with a cup of tea which contained sleeping tablets before carrying out the criminal act.

“The suspect confessed to the crime, saying he preferred a male child but his wife gave birth to a female, which prompted him to end the baby’s life”, the official said in the statement.

He said that the suspect had been handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.

Source: NAN

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This is made known in a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the board, Alhaji Ibrahim Lawan, on Thursday in Kano.

The Commander-General of the board, Dr Harun Ibn-Sina, said: “Hisbah corps will visit mosques during Iftar, Tarawih, Tahajjud prayers to protect worshippers and their property from unpatriotic elements.

“Those who engage in societal vices during this sacred month will be dealt with. Some of the youths who eat in the public during fasting period will not be spared either.”

Ibn-Sina called on the general public to assist orphans and the needy, in a bid to give them succour.

He said that feeding others during the holy month was rewarding as Allah (SWT), ‘’opens the doors of paradise, as such, there was the need to multiply good deeds to gain Allah’s favour.’’

Ibn-Sina said that clothing, food items, grains, water and cash, could also be given to those in need.

The Sultan of Sokoto and President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, Sa’ad Abubakar III, in a broadcast on Wednesday night announced the start of fasting on Thursday.

Ramadan is a time of spiritual reflection, self-improvement, and heightened devotion and worship.

Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam.

Source: NAN

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The conclusion of the investigation was announced in a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Board, Alhaji Lawan Ibrahim, on Tuesday in Kano.

According to the statement, “Presenting the report, chairman of the committee who doubles as Deputy Commander in charge of operations of the Board, Malam Hussain Ahmed, said the committee had found out that the marriage was legal and had fulfilled all the necessary criteria.

“Ahmed said Khadija was divorced by her husband and had observed the three months waiting period (iddah) prescribed by Islam, later married a man whom her biological daughter had earlier rejected.

“The Deputy Commander dismissed allegations that she was seeing her present husband while married and instigated her husband to divorce her to marry her daughter’s suitor.

“The marriage is legal according to Islam, that was the reason Hisbah Commander in Rano Local Government Area supported and took part in the wedding rites.”

The Commander General of the Board, Dr. Harun Ibn-Sina, has commended the committee for discharging its responsibilities.

Ibn-Sina said the committee members were carefully selected due to their vast knowledge on Islamic teachings and societal orientation.

He said the general public should desist from spreading fake news and avoiding misconceptions on issues regarding Islam.

He urged them to seek knowledge, saying Islam was a religion that had jurisdictions regarding marriage, family life and all other related issues of human endeavour.

Source: NAN

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Its spokesman, Malam Lawan Ibrahim, stated on Tuesday in Kano that the youths were gathered to witness the wedding of two suspected homosexuals Abba and Mujahid.

“The arrest was made after a Good Samaritan hinted the board about the same sex marriage.

“Our personnel attached to Hisbah board headquarters, Sharada Kano, arrived at the scene before the commencement of the wedding.

“Among those arrested were 15 females and four males,’’ Ibrahim stated.

“Abba and Mujahid escaped immediately Hisbah personnel arrived at the wedding venue, but the organiser, Salma Usman, 21, is in our custody.

“Those arrested will be handed over to the police for necessary action as most of the ladies claimed they were invited to the wedding from neighbouring states.

“We shall intensify efforts to ensure that Abba and Mujahid are arrested,’’ he added.

Ibrahim stressed that the board was determined to eradicate all vices in the state.

Source: NAN

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The executive director of the board, Dr Aliyu Kibiya, confirmed the arrest in a statement signed by Malam Lawal Ibrahim, Public Relations Officer of the board in Kano on Thursday.

Kibiya said the arrests by Hisbah were made following reports from residents of the areas.

The statement said: “The culprits were five females and  three males,  eating in the afternoon in the month of Ramadan.”

It further explained that the board would continue to conduct raids in all parts of the state to curb the development.

Source: NAN

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Malam Aminu Balarabe the permanent commissioner in charge of Hisbah and Sharia implementation made this known while displaying the commodity in Bauchi on Tuesday.

He said 216 crates were confiscated in Misau local government area and 44 in Bauchi club and some beer parlours located in Dass park in Bauchi metropolis.

“We will continue to beam our searchlight to unravel perpetrators of such misdemeanours” he said.

He said the department would soon seek for a court order to destroy the items as the subsisting Sharia law which was  implemented in 2003 had unequivocally prohibited sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks.

Balarabe who displayed the confiscated drinks at the premises of the state Sharia commission explained that no fewer than six operators of  beer parlours were  arrested during the patrol and they would soon be prosecuted  to serve as a deterrent to others.

“The only places where sales and consumption of alcoholic drinks are allowed are Military and Police barracks, National parks. We are fully committed to implementing our mandate,” he said.

The Hisbah department in Bauchi recently arrested some young men in Tafawa Balewa local government area who specialise in organising sex parties and committing other criminal tendencies.

Malam Aminu Idris, the permanent commissioner in-charge of Hisbah and Sharia implementation, said the suspects were in the habit of organising disco parties, locally called Gwaidu, during which they lured young girls into illicit sexual relationships, while at times they used force to intimidate innocent people.

After discreet investigations, the commissioner said, the state Hisbah office summoned the parents of the culprits, counselled them and made them to sign an undertaking against repeating the offence.

Idris said the Hisbah department would, henceforth, not hesitate to prosecute such culprits in a competent court of law, stressing, “As a Lawyer I will do everything possible to ensure that our existing laws were not flagrantly violated.”

He appealed to the state government to hasten the appointment of the state Hisbah Board, as well as provide additional financial and logistics support to the department to enable it perform optimally.

Source: NAN

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