>From: Momodou Camara <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Nigerian State Washes Its Hands of Stoning Sentence >Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 14:23:59 -0500 > >Gambia-l, >I wonder where these Nigerian Sharia Judges get the mandate from to stone >this woman. I am told by an Islamic scholar that there is no stoning >mentioned in the koran. Moreover, since sharia is a complete social system >there are conditions that has to be met before one can implement it. For >example, the justice, social welfare and other institutions have to first >be in place. You cannot punish somebody you have never cared for and never >educated. Have they paid a single niara to educate this woman? I believe >the answer is NO. These people only seems to want to implement punishments >and penalties. > >Momdou Camara > >***************** >Nigerian State Washes Its Hands of Stoning Sentence > >Business Day (Johannesburg) > > >August 27, 2002 > >Aminu Abubakar with Sapa >Johannesburg > > >No intervention expected in appeal of woman who bore child out of >wedlock > >The Nigerian state government at the centre of an outcry over the >sentencing of a single mother to death by stoning said yesterday it >would not intervene in her appeal. > >Last week in the northern state of Katsina, Amina Lawal lost her first >appeal against her conviction by an Islamic court for bearing a child >out of wedlock. > >Confirmation of the death sentence provoked an outcry around the world >and angered President Olusegun Obasanjo's government, which has >declared Sharia, Muslim religious law, unconstitutional. > >But on Monday a spokesman for Katsina state, which reintroduced Sharia >in August 2000 in defiance of the federal government, said Lawal's >fate would depend on the result of her appeal. > >"Amina's case is entirely a religious >one, so nobody has the right to >meddle in it," said Ibrahim Abdullahi, spokesman for Katsina governor >Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. > >"We are aware of the international protests against the sentence but >that will not make the state government interfere in the appeal >process," he said. > >One of Lawal's defence lawyers, Hauwa Ibrahim, said that an appeal >would probably be lodged this week with the Katsina Sharia appeals >court. > >"We will definitely challenge the upper Sharia court's ruling," she >said. "We are only waiting for the records of proceedings at the court >to file our appeal." > >On Saturday Obasanjo said he would "weep for Nigeria" if Lawal's >sentence was carried out and warned that the international outcry >would damage prospects for inward investment. > >But he made no offer to intervene in the case. > >Attorney-general Kanu Godwin Agabi said last week that the >inco >rporation by 12 states, including Katsina, of Sharia into their >criminal codes was unconstitutional. > >He said that if Lawal's appeals failed her case would be brought >before the supreme court to serve as a test of the 1999 constitution, >the basis for Nigeria's three-yearold democratic experiment. > >Many observers believe that power brokers in the northern states are >exploiting the controversy over Sharia to embarrass Obasanjo, a >southern Christian, and weaken his grip on power. > >But Abdullahi denied any political motive behind the case. > >"The impression given is that the government is bent on executing her >which is wrong. We have no interest in the case, we allow the >judiciary to perform its work," he said. > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface >at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: >[log in to unmask] > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~