The grand Qadi of the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Abdul-Lateef Kamaldeen, has stressed the need for Muslims to have the proper forum for dispensing justice by the dictates of Islamic religion and Law.
Justice Kamaldeen, who spoke in Ado Ekiti at the weekend while inaugurating an 11-member Ekiti State Independent Shariah Arbitration Panel, urged Muslim stakeholders in the state to engage other relevant stakeholders on the need to have Area Court and Sharia Court of Appeal in the state.
The grand Qadi, who was accompanied to the ceremony by the Kadi, Shariah Court of Appeal, Kwara State, Hon Justice AbdulRaheem Ahmad Sayi, described Shariah as a fundamental right of Muslims in the state, which he said was long overdue.
He said, “The fact that a state has not created courts for the operation of Islamic Law does not dis-entitle the Muslims therein from exercising their right to Islamic personal law.
According to Muntaka Coomassie, “the issue of Islamic personal law has transcended the state law. The provisions of the Constitution now govern it.” See. Mandara vs. Amin (Supra).
He noted that the absence of the Sharia Court in some states does not deprive Muslims of their inalienable right to practice Islamic personal law and the Islamic rights as enshrined in the Constitution.
“The ordinary law courts, i.e., the High Court and Magistrate Court, lack the competence to entertain matters of Islamic law, just as the Customary Court is a court for the administration of customary law only. Why, then, should any government continue to perpetuate this imbalance and unfair treatment against a religious group? There is no justification for such.
“We must realise that it is just a temporary arrangement. Muslims, like adherents of other religions, are citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and residents of Ekiti State, living and conducting their affairs peacefully and abiding by the laws of the State including payment of taxes, levies and other charges”.
Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman of the planning Committee, Barrister Tajudeen Tolulope Ahmed, said implementing the Shariah adjudication process should commence shortly after the panel’s inauguration.
He disclosed that a section of the Central Mosque OjaOba shall be the temporary secretariat.
