By Uche Onyeali
Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has urged the National Assembly to initiate legislation for the establishment of Federal Shari’ah Courts across Nigeria, particularly in the southern region.
The organisation in a statement yesterday signed by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said the move was necessary to address what it described as glaring lopsidedness in the country’s judicial system.
MURIC argued that Nigeria’s legal framework is based on a tripartite system comprising common law, customary law and Islamic law (Shari’ah), but only common and customary laws currently enjoy national application, while Shari’ah remains confined to Northern Nigeria.
“It is well known that the legal system stands on a tripod of common law, customary law and Islamic law. For justice to experience a balance, each component of the tripartite system should be equally treated and applied in all parts of the country,” the statement reads in part.
It noted that Muslims in the south are being denied judicial inclusivity and called on the Senate and House of Representatives to address the imbalance by granting constitutional backing for the creation of Shari’ah courts in all regions.
Acknowledging that state governments, particularly in the south, might be unwilling to establish such courts due to religious considerations, MURIC urged the federal government to step in.
“It is understandable that southern state governments are opposed to Shari’ah law, since the governors are all Christians. But the federal government should act in loco parentis by establishing Federal Shari’ah Courts the same way it established Christian common law courts throughout Nigeria,” Akintola stated.
Citing Sections 275, 276, and 277 of the 1999 Constitution, MURIC maintained that Muslims have a constitutional right to Shari’ah legal system and urged lawmakers to create an enabling law to enforce that right nationwide.
It also referred to its earlier memorandum submitted to the Senate and House of Representatives committees on constitutional amendment in Lagos in July, reiterating the demand for Shari’ah court expansion.
“The ball is therefore in the court of the National Assembly,” it noted.
