Following the National Assembly’s request for suggestions on the amendment of the 1999 constitution, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has proposed the complete removal of the recognition of Sharia law from the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The CAN is not the only body advocating the removal of the Sharia law in Nigeria, this topic became a matter for public discourse after few Sharia prosecutions gained popularity for their outright disregard for human rights.
In August 2020, 13-year-old Omar Farouq was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for making uncomplimentary remarks about God during an argument with a friend in Kano State.
The sentence as outrageous as it might sound in the 21st century would be considered merciful because, in a Sharia context, the penalty for blasphemy is death.
In June 2015, nine citizens of the country were sentenced to death for insulting the Prophet Muhammad in Kano State. According to reports, the trial was speedily done in secret after a section of the court was burnt down by angry protesters the month before.
There have been accounts that accuse the law of curbing freedom of speech so as not to offend the sensibilities of those conditioned under the Sharia.
In other to best understand the Islamic law and form an opinion on whether the laws should be eradicated, we must first understand its history and its usefulness.
History Of The Sharia Law In Nigeria
Sharia which means “the clear, well-trodden path to water” embodies a group of laws that acts as a code for living that all Muslims should and must adhere to.
Simply put, Sharia law is Islam’s legal system that provides a legal framework that governs how every Muslim should act in Islam.
The Nigerian legal frame is divided into four distinct legal systems and they are, Customary law, English law, Common law and Sharia law.
Formerly classified under customary law, the Sharia Court of Appeal where the Sharia law presides was first established by the colonial authorities on the eve of their departure in 1960 to replace the Moslem court of appeal. This legal system was again called to light in the creation of1979, 1989 and 1999 constitutions and in 1999, the sharia court of appeal grew from being a customary legal system to being recognized as a federal legal system.
Currently, 12 out of 36 states in Nigeria practice the Sharia law, Zamfara State ( from 27 January 2000 till date), Kano State (21 June 2000 till date), Sokoto State, Katsina State, Bauchi State (June 2001 till date), Borno State, Jigawa State, Kebbi State, Yobe State, Kaduna State, Niger State (4 May 2000) and Gombe State.
In the states where Sharia law is recognized, both Muslims and Non-muslims can be tried according to its tenets.
Nigeria is a country steeped in pluralism. From ethnic pluralism to religious pluralism, there have been concerns on whether the Sharia law and its tenets, especially on adultery and blasphemy violate the fundamental rights protected by the constitution.
Freedom Of Expression
On August 20, 2020, Yahaya Sharif (22 years old) was sentenced to death by hanging for the offence of blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed.
This among many cases which might have not gained publicity are the sentences handed out by the Sharia courts in Kano state and other states where the Sharia law is practised.
The provisions of the Nigerian Constitution are binding on governments, authorities and persons. Section 1 (i) of the 1999 Constitution provides: The constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It goes further to add in Section 1(iii): If any other law is inconsistent with the provision of this constitution, this constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void.
Under the tenet of the constitution, every Nigerian is entitled to the freedom of thought, conscience, religion and expression.
If the constitution allows every Nigerian these rights which are fundamentally and universally considered human rights, it gives rise to the discourse of the morality, sensibility and legality of a death sentence for a person caught exercising them.
Asides from the legal point of view, Sharia law has also given rise and rights to extremist points of view that have led to the killing of Nigerians living in the northern part of the country.
On June 19 2009, a Muslim mob in the town of Sara in Jigawa state burned a police outpost and injured about 12 people over alleged blasphemy against prophet Mohammed. The mob burned down the police station for refusing to release the “culprit” to be stoned. No known arrest was made for this crime.
Christiana Oluwatoyin Oluwasesan, a 30-year-old mother of two and a teacher at Government Secondary School of Gandu in the city of Gombe was stabbed and beaten to death for allegedly desecrating and mutilating the Qur’an on March 21, 2007. 3 people were arrested in connection to the murder and were arraigned before the Federal High Court, Gombe, which has to date delivered no publicized judgment on the matter.
On November 20 2002, Muslim mobs rampaged in the cities of Kaduna and Abuja. The rampage was caused by an article in Thisday newspaper that suggested the prophet Mohammed would have approved of a Miss World pageant that was taking place in Abuja. Muslim mobs accused the newspaper of blasphemy and burned down its office building in Kaduna. Then the mobs attacked churches and properties owned by Christians. Christian mobs confronted the Muslim mobs, causing the death of about 250 people.
Right To Personal Liberty
The right to personal liberty is guaranteed under section 35(i) of the 1999 constitution which states that every person is entitled to his/her liberty and no person shall be deprived of such liberty except in circumstance and under the procedure prescribed by law.
one of the constitutionally recognized circumstances where the right to liberty can be derogated includes; the execution of a sentence or order of a court of a criminal offence of which he/she has been found guilty. This means if the court finds a person guilty of a criminal offence and is tried and found guilty, the person can be jailed.
Adultery is not a criminal offence in Nigeria but the Sharia law stipulates differently. According to Sharia law, adultery is punishable with 2 years imprisonment and/or with an option of a fine.
In 2002, a Sharia court sentenced Amina Lawal, a single mother in Katsina State, to death by stoning for committing adultery and conceiving a child out of wedlock.
For CAN, the Sharia law should be recanted from Nigeria’s legal system while for others, the argument would be if the constitution is absolute and supreme especially putting into consideration the pluralism of the nation, the Sharia tenets should maybe be limited to Muslims or every Nigerian be allowed the right to choose whether to be tried under the harsh tenets of the Sharia law or not. What are your thoughts?