Centre for Law and Religion Studies at Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU), Bauchi, has received funding from international organisations, totalling $95,000.
It aims to support the centre’s mission of promoting scholarship and dialogue on issues related to law and religion.
In a statement issued yesterday by the former deputy vice-chancellor (DVC) Academic of the University, Associate Professor Ahmed Salisu Garba, who is currently the acting vice-chancellor of Al-Muhibbah Open University (AOU) Abuja, the new development is expected to significantly enhance the centre’s research and educational efforts in the field of law and religion.
He added that in August 2023, the centre prepared and sent an application for a grant to the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo in Norway for an academic fellowship programme to train academic staff on the teaching of law and religion in Nigerian Universities, especially law faculties.
“Our Centre defended the proposal in Norway at the University of Oslo sometime in November 2023. Finally, our centre was awarded a grant of about $60,000 to be spent in three years beginning from 2024, 2025 and 2026,” he added.
The statement further said under the grant, the centre is to engage 15 academic staff from (BASUG), now Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU), and other universities in Nigeria for the 2024 training. The university is to appoint five mentors within the professorial cadre who have knowledge of law and religion studies through their writings.
In addition, the university is to appoint five foreign experts to the programme. Fellows will engage in 10 online meetings, followed by a face-to-face meeting for four nights. They will be given six months to produce original academic papers on topics related to law and religion studies to be published in reputable international journals.
The money is to be credited to the centre’s domiciliary account under the care of Sa’adu Zungur University.
Another milestone worthy of mention as put forward by Professor Ahmed Salisu, is that the centre recently prepared and sent a proposal to the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at the Brigham Young University, USA to promote the teaching of law and religion studies in Nigeria.
Ahmed Salisu, said, “Under the proposal, our centre will collaborate with the University of Ilorin, Al-Muhibbah Open University, Abuja and the Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NAILS). Under this proposal, we are to host 71 deans of law of Nigerian Universities, the DG Nigeria Law School and his DIGs and 7 international experts from UK and USA in Abuja on the 14 and 15 August 2024.”
He added, ” Hajara Shuaibu of the Faculty of Law and I defended the proposal in Zimbabwe recently at Victoria Falls during the 2024 international conference of the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ACLARS).”
“Under this proposal, we approved $25,000, which will be credited to the centre’s account anytime soon for the August 2024 seminar.”
It did not stop there, as the Current United Nations Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief, Professor Nazila Ghanea of the University of Oxford, decided to forward an award of $10,000 she received from Notre Dame University, Indiana, USA, to the Centre for Law and Religion Studies at Sa’adu Zungur University.
“This is to support students on freedom of religion-related cases and to provide travel grants on freedom of religion meetings, and to support the centre’s operations associated with freedom of religion advocacy. This is also to be channelled to the Center for Law and Religion Studies of Sa’adu Zungur University.”
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