Islamic sharia law is making inroads into the predominantly Christian south of Nigeria at a time when religion is expected to be a crucial issue in looming general elections.
Moslem officials have set up sharia courts in Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, and in the southwestern state of Oyo, to deal with such civil matters as divorce, inheritance questions and contract disputes.
The courts are for Moslems only and do not extend to criminal matters, which caused much controversy in the 12 predominantly Islamic northern states that implemented sharia — canonical law based on the teachings of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet — over the past four years.
”The course is clear to the introduction of sharia to those states in the south that have significant Moslem populations,” says Lateef Adegbite, head of Nigeria’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. ”There is no constitutional or legal impediment to the extension of sharia to the south.”
Adegbite says the Koran tells Moslems to follow sharia, so Moslems need to have access to sharia courts to live a full Islamic life.
”We have repeatedly told non-Moslems that sharia will not be extended to them,” Adegbite said.
”The application of sharia to the Moslems should not be their concern.”
Nigeria’s constitution gives Moslems the right to practice their religion freely and that includes organising sharia courts, says Is-Haq Akintola, director of Lagos-based Muslim Rights Concern.
”We’re not talking about introducing criminal sharia in southern Nigeria at all,” says Akintola. ”We’ve seen how it created doubts and gulfs between the people and generated fear.”
Violent protests in Christian enclaves marked the introduction of sharia law in some states of northern Nigeria. Worst-hit was Kaduna, where an estimated 2 500 people died in religious clashes.
Foreign and domestic human rights groups have criticised the brand of sharia justice for its punishments — which include stoning adulterers and amputating thieves — and for what they say is its uneven application.
”We know how many Moslem elite have been indicted for stealing public funds, but they derive pleasure in cutting the hands of poor people who steal goats and hens,” says Beko Ransome-Kuti, a director of the Centre for Constitutional Governance, once jailed for his activism under Nigerian military rule.
Ransome-Kuti says the move to establish civil sharia courts is just ”the thin edge of the wedge” for attempts to impose full sharia justice in southern Nigeria.
”There is no way that civil sharia will be introduced without upsetting the whole process of unity and harmonious co-existence in the southwest,” he says.
Uwem Ankak, executive secretary of the New Consciousness Group, an evangelical organisation that is lobbying for ”God-fearing” people to seek political office, says sharia can’t succeed in southern Nigeria.
”Lagos is too cosmopolitan for that,” says Ankak. ”If Moslems want sharia, they can go to Zamfara state.”
Zamfara was the first state to introduce Islamic law, shortly after its governor won the 1999 election on a campaign promise of sharia.
The debate comes two months before Nigeria is scheduled to hold full national elections. President Olusegun Obasanjo is vying to retain power against his main challenger, Muhammadu Buhari of the All-Nigeria People’s Party.
The campaign is taking on religious undertones, with some opponents trying to portray each of Obasanjo and Buhari as religious fanatics. Obasanjo is a Christian from southern Nigeria and Buhari a Moslem from the north. – Sapa-DPA