Initiate Bill On Federal Sharia Courts, MURIC Tells NASS

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the National Assembly to initiate a bill on creating federal Sharia courts in all states, particularly in Southern Nigeria.

MURIC’s executive director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, issued a statement last Friday appealing to the federal government to fully integrate Sharia courts into the country’s judicial system by directly establishing Federal Sharia courts in all states, the same way it established Christian ordinary law courts all over the country.

“As a corollary to this appeal and because even FG may need an enabling constitutional instrument to take this noble step, we are shining our interrogation light on the National Assembly (NASS) to do the needful.

“We hereby call the attention of both houses of the Nigerian parliament, the Senate and the House of Representatives, to the glaring lopsidedness cum lacuna in the Nigerian judicial system, which has denied Muslims in Southern Nigeria their Allah-given fundamental human rights in terms of free access to courts of their own choice (i.e. Sharia courts).

“Inclusivity is sine qua non in every democratic setting, but Muslims in Southern Nigeria are deprived of this in the present-day Nigerian judicial system. Such situations breed dissatisfaction among the populace, thereby making peace, stability and social harmony evasive unless it is addressed.

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“It is well known that the Nigerian legal system stands on a tripod of common law, customary law and Islamic law, Sharia. For justice to experience a balance, it is expected that each component of the tripartite system should be equally treated and applied in all parts of the country.

“But the reverse is the case as only two of them (common law and customary law) enjoy national spread while Shari’ah is restricted to the North.”

In particular, common law, which is essentially and undeniably Christian law, enjoys special grace with the establishment of magistrate courts and high courts by state governments as well as federal high courts, federal courts of appeal and the Supreme Court by the Federal Government.

“Customary courts come next as they are established all over the country by all state governments. They also enjoy the luxury of customary courts of appeal. These courts apply traditional rules in their areas of jurisdiction, thereby representing traditional religion.’’