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LAGOS, June 20 (AFP)-The parliament in Nigeria's Muslim-dominated northern Katsina State has approved a ban on prostitution, alcohol and gambling, as the state prepares to introduce Sharia law. On Monday, the House of Assembly passed a motion "outlawing these social vices" as a prelude to the introduction of the Sharia, said an aide to the House by telephone. The aide said the state lawmakers believed it was necessary to sanitize society in preparation for the implementation of Sharia. Sharia has already been declared in three other northern states - Zamfara, Niger and Sokoto. Kano, also dominated by Muslims and Nigeria's largest state with a population of up to eight million, was due to adopt Sharia at a public ceremony on Wednesday. Authorities in Kano have drafted in police and the army and cancelled leave for security personnel ahead of Wednesday's planned introduction of Islamic law. They are taking no chances after violence linked to Christian protest against Sharia in Kaduna, left more than 1,000 dead in February and more than 300 dead last month. The House of Assembly aide in Katsina said security agents would be able to enforce the ban and that Sharia would be introduced "in a few months", after an implementation committee completes its work. Many prominent Nigerians, including a former military head of state, Muhammadu Buhari, hail from Katsina State. In Zamfara State, Sharia took effect January of last year. Meanwhile, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was in Cairo attending a summit of the G15 group of developing nations, was reported to have said the spread of Sharia would not raise sectarian tensions again. "We've always had Islamic law," said Obansajo. Kano will be the fourth northern Nigerian state to formally declare Sharia. Authorities in several other states are under pressure from Islamic leaders to follow suit. In April, the governors of the 19 northern states issued a statement promising to set up a committee with Muslim and Christian leaders "to dialogue on those aspects of Sharia not included in the (existing) penal code." However this has not happened and those states that had already declared Sharia have said they will not back down. Northern Nigeria is dominated by a mainly Muslim population with a Christian and animist minority, some of whom are opposed to the introduction of the Sharia. |
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