Islamic law on trial in Nigeria
Wednesday, 22 March, 2000, 22:06 GMT
By Nigeria correspondent Barnaby Phillips
A court case testing the legality of the introduction of Islamic Sharia law
in the northern Nigerian state of Zamfara is due to resume on Thursday.
The case has been raised by a leading human rights lawyer Olisa Agbakoba,
who is arguing that Zamfara, by introducing Sharia criminal law, has
violated the Nigerian constitution.
Mr Agbakoba's organisation, Huri Laws, alleges that Zamfara has violated the
essentially secular nature of the Nigerian constitution through its adoption
of Sharia, and that it is favouring one religion, Islam, to the detriment of
the other, Christianity.
The case is still in its early stages but it, along with four similar suits
which Huri Laws has subsequently filed, could help to resolve the burning
the controversy over the legality of Sharia - an issue which has divided the
country.
Emotive issue
Last month hundreds of people were killed in the northern city of Kaduna
when violence began during a demonstration by Christians against Sharia.
Zamfara has been the leading state in the pro-Sharia camp.
The Nigerian constitution specifically recognises the authority of Sharia on
some aspects of family and civil law, but what has aroused such anger among
Christians was Zamfara's move in January to introduce a Sharia criminal
code.
Many Christians have argued that it is the government, through the
attorney-general, which ought to be taking the pro-Sharia states to court.
But President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is a devout Christian, has said that
any legal move by the government would be divisive.
He says he would prefer the government to remain neutral on this most
delicate of subjects, while religious and secular leaders work on a
political solution.
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BBC News
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