NIGERIA AND THE IMPLEMENTATION  OF THE SHARIA LEGAL SYSTEM

At several fora, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has had cause to state that considering the true federalism that obtained in Nigeria, the constituent states had the constitutional right to implement certain policies without the interference of the Federal Government. The Sharia legal system is one of those policies already taken in some Northern States of the Federation. It should be reiterated that even in Sharia legal system, there are several stages of judicial appeals available to an accused under the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees the sanctity of life, respect for human rights and the rule of law. This may well explain why no Nigerian had been stoned to death since the introduction of the Sharia system in some parts of the country. It should also be noted that Sharia Law operates in less than one-third of the 36 states of Nigeria.

 

DEATH PENALTY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE  AGAINST WOMEN

Since the advent of the new democratic order in Nigeria in 1999, the country has taken several significant steps on the quest to have death penalty expunged from the country’s statutes. However, given the reality of diversity of religion in Nigeria with different viewpoint on the rationale for death penalty, the Government has to strike a balance in the conflicting opinions. In the meantime, the National Assembly is currently looking at the subject from a legislative perspective.

 

On the alleged prevalence of domestic violence against women in Nigeria, we wish to declare that there is no credibility to the source of this assertion. There is no human society that is immune to violence against women. However, at the moment, a considerable number of states in the Nigerian Federation have taken steps to enact legislation against domestic violence.

 

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