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Eleventh Nigerian State To Launch Islamic Law
LAGOS, April 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The northern Nigerian state of Borno will introduce Islamic law, or Shari'a, in June, becoming the 11th state to do so, officials said Monday.
Ten of 19 northern Nigerian states have already adopted Islamic law since October 1999, when the state of Zamfara led the way despite opposition by President Olusegun Obasanjo, some Christians and human rights bodies.
Borno State Governor Mala Kachalla said over weekend that the Shari'a legal system will come into force in June, his office told news agencies on Monday. The governor made the announcement on receiving a report of a 26-member committee he set up to work out the mechanism for the implementation of the law, which he said was being introduced "to meet the aspirations of the people."
The law bans gambling, alcohol and prostitution, among other vices. Kachalla said the law would apply "only to Muslims", adding that Christians have no cause for concern. Under Nigeria's constitution, the nation is a secular state.
In the meantime, several hundred members of a Muslim "vigilante" group in Nigeria demonstrated here last week in favor of Islamic law in northern Kano state, and criticized authorities for not fully enforcing the strict code.
Members of "Hisbah" units, who monitor and enforce Islamic law, protested peacefully in Kano, Nigeria's largest northern city and second largest commercial center after Lagos. They carried placards and chanted anti-government slogans.
Some of the placards read: "We hate deception," "Shari'a is a must," and "Either Shari'a or death." The government of Kano introduced Shari'a in November.
Earlier this year several thousands Muslims marked the first anniversary of Shari'a implementation in Nigeria's Zamfara state. The law was introduced in the northwestern state on January 27, 2000, amid protests from Western countries, some human rights groups and Christians. The move was applauded by Muslim countries and religious groups.
Western human rights groups attentively followed the case of a 17-year-old Nigerian girl who was flogged early last month for becoming pregnant after having pre-marital sex.
Authorities in most of the states that introduced the Islamic law said that Shari'a was introduced to curb prostitution, adultery, drunkenness, gambling, stealing and other vices. Obasanjo, a Christian, has criticized some Islamic punishments as unconstitutional but has refused to act against states that carry them out.
Religious sentiment has been growing both in the mainly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south of Nigeria and the issue has long been explosive. The country has been shaken twice by bloody religious riots in the northern city of Kaduna since Obasanjo came to power in mid 1999.
The governor of Zamfara State, Ahmed Sani, has previously expressed disappointment at the attitude of police who were reluctant to enforce the law and often accuses police of not prosecuting those flouting Shari'a.
In response, Sani established a new task force - made up of civil lawyers - to help prosecute violators of the Islamic law.
Several countries including Germany and Canada, along with international organizations such as UNICEF and Amnesty International, have criticized the law and said it was an infringement on human rights.
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