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Nigeria’s top Muslim organisation, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), has faulted the furore over the sitting of a Shariah panel in a mosque in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, and the dissolution of the panel by the traditional ruler of the town.
The NSCIA stated its position through a statement on Wednesday signed by its deputy national legal adviser, Haroun Eze.
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The council, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, said the controversy was unwarranted, urging that Muslims be allowed to live and practise their religion without persecution in every part of Nigeria.
Background
The controversy began after it was reported that a Shariah panel sat at the Central Mosque of Ado-Ekiti. On Saturday, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, his chiefs and other community leaders met with Muslim leaders, during which he ordered the panel’s dissolution. The traditional ruler said his order was in the interest of peaceful coexistence, law and order in the community.
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Speaking after the meeting, Mr Adejugbe said, “Based on this Sharia issue, I summoned the Chief Imam and his lieutenants, members of the Ewi-in-Council, the president of Ado Progressives Union and Ado sons and daughters to discuss the matter because it is a sensitive issue.
“We all listened and it appears they set up a committee at the Central Mosque with the intention to listen to disputes. According to them, they have good intentions, and it was an internal arrangement with nothing to do with any external person or somebody influencing them.
“I told them the mood of the nation will not allow such to happen now, that they should revert to how the founding fathers of the mosque had been settling disputes in the past without setting up a committee.
“I told them that there is no need for the committee and they should dissolve the committee henceforth. That is the decision of the Ewi-in-Council, and that is the position of all Ado sons and daughters.
“The panel stands dissolved. If we should allow such committees, the Christians too will want to set up committees in their various churches, the traditional worshippers too and before you know it, it will lead to crises,” Mr Adejugbe said
Speaking earlier, the Chief Imam, Kewulere, confirmed setting up the committee to resolve a marriage dispute, stressing that he had no sinister motives.
Ekiti State Government’s stand
However, in a statement made available to reporters in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dayo Apata (SAN), faulted the establishment of the panel. He said the legal structure in the state did not recognise a Sharia Court or Sharia Arbitration Panel.
He said that the legal structure (i.e. Customary Court, Customary Court of Appeal and High Court) had been handling issues relating to Islamic, Christian and traditional marriages and inheritance without rancour or agitation.
Mr Apata said the “Arbitration and/or Mediation issue is a Quasi-Judicial matter, which is regulated by law” in the state.
“The Sharia Courts in the North are equivalent to the Customary Courts in the Southern part of Nigeria wherein the Appeals therefrom also go to the Sharia Court of Appeal”, adding that “the State similarly has Customary Courts that hear customary cases as well as the Customary Court of Appeal that hears appeals from the Customary Courts.”
Noting that the state high courts and other courts also have arbitration and mediation mechanisms, Mr Apata said customary courts and the Customary Court of Appeal can effectively resolve any customary issues arising from Yoruba traditional marriages, Islamic marriages, and Christian marriages, especially those that were not backed up by the Statutory Marriages, which can only be dissolved by the State High Courts throughout Nigeria.
Mr Apata cautioned against activities that may disrupt peaceful coexistence among residents, stressing that the government would not tolerate any action that may foster hostility in the state.
NSCIA disagree
In his statement of Wednesday, however, Mr Eze cited the development to highlight alleged intolerance and disregard for the rights of Muslims in the southern part of the country.
“The most recent of this is the development emanating from Ekiti State where the efforts of the Muslim community to set up an Independent Shariah (Arbitration) Panel was met with unwarranted resistance and objections from both political and traditional quarters.
“This is coming barely a few weeks after the announcement on the inauguration of a Shariah panel in Oyo State generated unnecessary anxiety, thereby leading to its indefinite postponement”, the NSCIA lamented.
The NSCIA said the independent panel is voluntary and meant to fill a vacuum in the legal system in the South-west.
“The Independent Arbitration Panel, which is a voluntary platform designed solely for the resolution of civil and marital disputes among consenting Muslims, was to fill the inexplicable vacuum created by the failure of the political elite in South-Western Nigeria to establish Shariah Courts, as allowed by the Nigerian Constitution, in South-Western states, despite the huge population of Muslims in the region.
“This and other cases, such as the denial of the rights of female students to wear the Hijab despite a Supreme Court judgement, are nothing but calculated attempts to prevent Muslims in the region from practising their faith”, the NSCIA stated.
Meanwhile, the NSCIA said the arbitration and the Shariah Court of Appeal, just like the Customary Court of Appeal (which all of them have), are provided for in the 1999 Constitution (Section 275), confirming the legality of both initiatives.
“The NSCIA strongly supports the establishment of Independent Shariah Arbitration Panel in Ekiti and Oyo States for the purpose so intended, especially where the Muslims in the states have been denied their constitutional right to a Shariah Court of Appeal in all the states of South-Western Nigeria.
“The Council cannot find any legal justification for the unnecessary alarm and unwarranted resistance. All the states in the North have Shariah Courts, and some, in addition, have Customary Courts.
“The Council calls on governors and traditional authorities in the southern part of the country, particularly the South-West, to ensure that the constitutional rights of Muslims are preserved and protected.
“While others are allowed to live, Muslims should also be let live”, the NSCIA stated.
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