Legal practitioners have disagreed over the inauguration and sitting of an Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel in Ekiti State.
The Muslim community in the state had late last year set up the panel aimed at providing arbitration based on Islamic jurisprudence and settling disputes among the faithful.
The state government, through the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Dayo Apata (SAN), had come out to disown the panel after its inaugural sitting, saying it is not in the judicial structure of the state.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Ado Ekiti, the state deputy president of the Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs (SCIA), Barr. Tajudeen Olutope Ahmed, who justified the setting up of the panel, said the system is not new in the state as the arbitration was being held in all mosques across the state from time immemorial in line with the dictates of the Quran.
Ahmed added that, “the panel is the way we settle scores and a system of meditating among Muslims that believe their issues could be settled in line with the provision of the Quran.
“That the attorney general said the panel is not part of the state judicial structure doesn’t necessarily mean he is denying it. Because, even when the constitution provides for the establishment of Shariah court, what we have is not a court and it is not the creation of the state authority, but it is a creation of the Muslim community.
“So, if the attorney general can come out and say that it is not part of the judicial structure of the state, he is correct, because it is not being controlled by the government and that is why we call it independent. But that doesn’t mean it is not existing.
The palace, radio and television arbitration processes are not part of the judicial structure of Ekiti State, but they are all available for the people to access.
“It is a quasi-judicial system, that is why it is independent of the government. It is meant to settle civil scores, civil disputes; it doesn’t have jurisdiction over criminal matters, so, it doesn’t affect anybody in any way and it is not compulsory for anybody, even if you are a Muslim. If you do not want your matter to be settled through the process, nobody is compelling anybody.”
On his part, the former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Barr. Owoseni Ajayi who spoke against the setting up of the panel said, Mr Apata, who is the chief judicial officer of the state, has clearly stated the position of the law on the issue.
Owoseni, a former chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ado Ekiti branch, who stated this while speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Ado Ekiti said there is a strata of courts recognised by the constitution as could be amended by the Act of the State House of Assembly or that of the National Assembly.
