By Nafiu Busari
The Concerned Muslim Scholars in Nigeria have called on South-West state governors to grant the legitimate and constitutional request of Muslims for the establishment of Sharia Courts of Appeal across the six states in the geo-political zone.
The organization, in collaboration with the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria, made the demand during a news conference held at Arisekola Mosque, Iwo Road, Ibadan.
President-General Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria, Sheikh AbdurRasheed Hadiyatullahi, while addressing newsmen on the state of the nation as it affects Yoruba Muslims in particular, and Nigerians in general stressed that it is the mandatory duty of Southwest governors to establish Shari’ah Court of Appeal and subordinate Courts of first instance for Muslims who are in the majority.
“The establishment of Sharia Courts is exclusively for Muslims and parties who wish to be adjudicated according to Sharia principles, and its establishment should not be misconstrued as a prejudice to the rights of non-Muslims or an agenda to Islamize Nigeria” he clarified.
Sheikh Hadiyatullahi added that the establishment of the Independent Shari’ah Panel was to adjudicate Muslim disputes by Islamic injunctions and to fill the lacuna in the conventional judicial system in various states.
He also urged President Bola Tinubu to address unfair treatment meted out to Southern Muslims in all aspects of public service.
Sheikh Hadiyyatullahi said such redress would cancel the suspicion of subtle political annihilation against Muslims, while those opposing President Tinubu during his campaign period are reaping the proceeds of Muslim/Muslim Ticket.
The Pioneer Executive Secretary, Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria, MUSWEN, Professor Daud Noibi maintained that only those who are ignorant of the values and significance of Shari’ah would oppose its establishment.
Professor Noibi while cautioning non-Muslims against objection to Shari’ah equally urged some Islamic clerics to desist from obstructing willing Muslims who are ready to comply with Allah’s commandments in their lifestyle.
He noted that Shari’ah guarantees good governance and adequate security of lives and property.
The Director of Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola who lamented the deprivation of Muslims in Yorubaland the right to freedom of religion, said the tripartite nature of the justice system should be operated to give room for equal opportunity, accessibility to justice, fairness which are features of democracy.
A retired Professor of Islamic and Arabic Studies at the University of Ibadan, Kamil Oloso harped on the need for clerics and organizations to sensitise Nigerians about the universality of Islam, stressing Shari’ah discourse is devoid of ethnicity or sectional interest.
Professor Oloso called for spreading the message of Shari’ah to the federal government, documentation and translation of the suggestions by various scholars into major Nigerian languages.
Chairman Council of Ulama, Lagos state, Sheikh Abdulfatah Thani appealed to the government to accede to the demand for the establishment of Sharia Courts to shame enemies of the country who had predicted its disintegration.
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