The constitution and inauguration of an 11-member Independent Shari’ah Arbitration Panel in Ekiti State was received with excitement by the people, especially the Muslim faithful.
The panel, according to the grand Qadi of the Kwara State Shari’ah Court of Appeal, Justice Abdul-Lateef Kamaldeen, who presided over the inauguration in October 2024, assured that the panel would serve justice to all, regardless of religious affiliation.
The three Kadhis, Imam Abdullahi Abdul-Mutolib, Imam Abdulraheem Junaid-Bamigbola, and Dr Ibrahim Aminullahi-Ogunrinde, were the panellists who presided over the sitting.
Justice Kamaldeen described the Shari’ah Panel as fundamental rights of Muslims in Ekiti and other parts of the country aimed at providing arbitration based on Islamic jurisprudence.
The President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Ekiti State, Alhaji Hammed Bakare, while speaking on the significance of the panel, stressed that the Shari’ah adjudication process is voluntary and adheres strictly to Islamic principles.
Bakare clarified that Muslims can choose to use the Islamic Arbitration system but are not under any obligation to seek redress through the panel.
However, in its swift reaction to the development, the state government has denied the existence of either the Sharia Court or the proposed Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel in the state.
Speaking through the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata (SAN) said that the Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel is not in the judicial structure of the State.
Apata said, “Arbitration and/or Mediation issue is a Quasi-Judicial matter regulated by Law in the State”.
The Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe, also backed the state government on the issue, calling for the disbandment of the Sharia Panel in the state.
Oba Adejugbe noted that though the panel was to provide arbitration based on Islamic jurisprudence, the public has misconstrued it, hence the need to disband in the interest of peace in the state.
Sharing his thoughts in an exclusive interview with the LEADERSHIP in Ado Ekiti, the former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ekiti State, Mr Owoseni Ajayi, said any structure of the judicial hierarchy that does not form or in compliance with the provision of the constitution is null and void.
In a separate interview with LEADERSHIP, also in Ado Ekiti, the Deputy President, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Ekiti State, Mr Tajudeen Olutope Ahmed, said the Shari’ah Arbitration Panel system is not new because it has always been part of Islam and Muslims here in Ekiti state.
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