The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs’ planned inauguration of a shari’a arbitration panel in the South-Western states of Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, and Lagos on Monday caused tensions between Christian and Muslim officials.
This comes as supporters of the Islamic code stated that they could not reverse their decision to form the panel in order to decide and settle disputes within the Muslim Ummah of the South-West.
In separate interviews with press on Monday, Dr. Hammed Bakare, President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Ekiti State, and Dr. Rafiu Bello, Chairman of the Shari’a Committee of Oyoland, stated that the shari’a panel would be established in spite of the objections.
In order to decide and sit on issues pertaining to Muslims, the Shari’a Council had proposed the creation of an arbitration panel in Oyo Town.
The government and other officials, however, resisted the development. The panel inauguration that was scheduled on January 11 at the Muslim Community Islamic Centre in Mobolaje Area, Oyo, was subsequently postponed indefinitely.
Three Khadis made up the panel, which held its inaugural meeting at the Ekiti Central Mosque in Ado Ekiti last week.
Imam Abdullahi Abdul-Mutolib, Imam Abdulraheem Junaid-Bamigbola, and Dr. Ibrahim Aminullahi-Ogunrinde are among the Khadis.
The state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Dayo Apata (SAN), seemed uneasy with the notion, stating that the state’s current legal system did not recognise shari’a courts or arbitration panels.
According to him, “Ekiti State’s existing legal system—the Customary Court, Customary Court of Appeal, and High Court—has been resolving disputes involving Islamic, Christian, and traditional marriages and inheritance without hostility or agitation.”
The Sharia panel was dissolved “in the interest of peaceful coexistence and law and order in the community,” according to Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, who supported the state government’s position.
On Saturday, Adejugbe addressed the community’s chiefs and indigenous people, Sheikh Jamiu Kewulere, the Chief Imam and President of the League of Imams and Alfas in the Southwest, Edo, and Delta states, as well as other Muslim leaders in Ado Ekiti regarding the shari’a panel issue.
“Why should the panel be disbanded? For what? Can you ask somebody to dissolve his marriage or not to worship God the way he likes? It is not lawful for anybody to give such a command. Bakare, the SCN President in Ekiti State, stated that the panel established by Muslims in Ekiti State “will not be disbanded nor dissolved as being canvassed in some quarters.”
Bakare added that the arbitration was not a court but rather part of the Islamic religion’s dictates for the promotion of peace.
He continued by saying, “The panel is an arbitration that we made for ourselves, Muslims, and it is not even required for all Muslims, only those who are eager to follow Allah’s commands as stated in the Quran. Adhering to the commands of the All-Powerful God is just a component of our worship.
“That panel, not a court or anything, is for us. It’s an arbitration panel that any organisation can set up within.
“It is not a new thing,” Bakare confirmed, adding that the panel was present in some Southwest states, such as Lagos and Oyo States. Even churches have been known to adjudicate disputes among themselves without the use of formal courts.
The Nigerian constitution guarantees freedom of worship and practice, so that is all we are doing. “There is nothing to fear from the arbitration panel, we are not forcing anybody.
It is for only Muslims who are willing to go to that panel, if you are not willing to go as a Muslim, nobody is going to coerce you to go.”
“It is just to settle matters within us, and Islamic worship ensures peace in your domain, organisation, and society.”
“All those tags against the panel are not genuine, they are just an attempt to discredit it,” he said, scolding the panel’s opponents.
They don’t want to know whether there is anything positive about Muslims or shari’a, or whether it affects them. We think that no one can prevent us from practicing our faith. That’s our perspective. We are just peace-loving Muslims who wish to contribute to peace because, if there is peace in one place, it will spread across society. We have nothing against anyone and are not engaged in conflict with anyone.
According to the Islamic leader, the arbitration panel did not break any laws. In a similar spirit, Bello, the chairman of the Shari’a Committee of Oyoland, stated that the panel’s inauguration in Oyo State would go ahead as scheduled and that a new date would be announced soon.
Bello said that similar panels were already in place in Saki, Kishi, and Ogbomoso, and that the controversy surrounding the Oyo town panel was caused by “the initial mislabelling of the panel as a shari’a court.”
“An updated date for the inauguration has not yet been disclosed. There is no stopping the shari’a panel’s inauguration in Oyo town.
“It was just postponed, and we will make the precise date known when the time comes, insha’Allah.”
Setting up the panel is our right, and it cannot be undone. It doesn’t threaten or hurt this civilisation,” he said.
Bello also downplayed the worries expressed by certain traditional leaders, pointing out that these panels are allowed by the constitution.
Bello stated that the panels were formerly located in Lagos, sections of Oyo, and Ekiti in the South-West, while the Nigerian Supreme Council for Shari’a’s zonal headquarters were located in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State.
The statements made by some traditional leaders don’t worry us. This is permitted by the Constitution, and we have the backing of Nigeria’s Supreme Council for Shari’a,” he continued.
Bello added that the panel was created for Muslims who were eager to settle problems such those involving inheritance, marriage, and friendships. He asserts that, in contrast to formal courts, Muslim scholars will serve as arbitrators, offering advice based on the Quran without levying fines.
This panel is only intended for Muslims who are willing. It is uninformed to claim that it is a Fulani or Hausa agenda. In accordance with Islamic principles, it will resolve conflicts between friends, spouses, and other parties.
“Why is there a problem with Oyo town when panels like this already exist in Osogbo, Kishi, Saki, Ogbomoso, and Ibadan?” He clarified.
Bello reaffirmed that the panel acts as an independent arbitration body that does not need State House of Assembly permission when asked what legal structure it operates under.
It is covered by the Nigerian Constitution. The one error was referring to it as a sharia court rather than a sharia arbitration panel.
This is only for resolving conflicts between Muslims who are willing. Bello claimed that religious extremists were responsible for the commotion.
Mallam AbulGaniy Ezra, the SCN Coordinator for Osun State, stated that Governor Ademola Adeleke will be convinced to permit the state’s shari’a panel to become a full-fledged court.
According to Ezra, the panel was established in the state in 2005. He stated that the 1999 Constitution allowed for the creation of shari’a courts in the nation and that the panel had settled a number of civil cases.
Additionally, he claimed that those who opposed the court’s formation in the South-West were not Christians but rather people who were uninformed about how the shari’a arbitration system worked.
“Let me clarify that the shari’a court that people are referring to is actually the shari’a arbitration panel, which has been held in Osun for roughly 20 years.
Regular sittings are held there. Every month on the last Wednesday or Thursday, they have their arbitration.For nearly two decades, the panel has been seated at the Muslim Community Secretariat in Osogbo.
It accommodates frequent sittings.Every month on the last Wednesday or Thursday, they have their arbitration.
For nearly two decades, the panel has been seated at the Muslim Community Secretariat in Osogbo.
Sharia arbitration has been in effect since the inauguration, which took place in 2005 at the Oja-Oba Central Mosque in Osogbo.
“Even if it is our right, we don’t take it that way; instead, we see it as something that can be jointly agreed upon. We plan to convince the governor of Osun State.
”Every matter that affects both citizens and non-citizens in this nation is decided by our common law courts. The Constitution also establishes the customary court, which is equivalent to the shari’a court.
“So, I don’t know why people are making noise about the creation of the shari’a court in the South-West. Section 278 of the constitution said ‘there should be a shari’a court’ but anytime our people heard anything about shari’a court, they thought maybe some people wanted to start war. No, it is not like that. It is about giving the right of Muslims to Muslims,’’ he said.
Amir Sirajudeen Abdulazeez, the Amir of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria and one of the panel’s supporters, stated that the establishment of a shari’a court in Ondo State was perfectly acceptable, citing the fact that it was a component of Muslim rights.
Additionally, he expressed hope that the state would eventually host the panel’s scheduled formation.
“Your claim that Muslims lack the authority to make decisions about their life based on their religious convictions is a clear violation of their constitutionally guaranteed rights. The only things it is are oppression, exploitation, and subordination. “Can’t we converse if Muslims are a minority in Ondo State? Can’t we demand it if our constitution says so? Why are Muslims unable to communicate if customary law has its roots in idolatry and civil law has its roots in the Bible? It will take time to determine whether shari’a courts will be established in those states. The Muslim community is demanding it and agitating for it. We will be heard by the government when the time comes. When the government feels the need to create it, they will do so,” he said.
However, Pastor Joshua Opayinka, the state chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria branch in Ondo State, stated that a shari’a court was not practical in the state.
Only in the north, where Muslims predominate, could it be duplicated, he said. “That (the establishment of a shari’a court) is an aberration,” the cleric declared.
Why is Ondo State home to a shari’a court? That isn’t feasible, no. Is it possible to duplicate the same phenomenon in the north? They claim they have the right to do so.
They are unstoppable. Is it possible for us to engage in full Christian worship activities up north? Can they let it happen? We must take a seat at the round table and find a middle ground if they are canvassing that.
“In the north, we have been marginalized. Christians in the north have not been permitted to have full operations of their Christian activities. So, why are they coming here? So to come and do that, that is not possible.”
Abagun Kole Omololu, the organising secretary of the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical movement Afenifere, declared that the South-West region’s priority was on development and that introducing religious legislation into Yoruba culture would not be accepted.
He said, “What Yoruba wants is not religious bigotry, we are too closely knit as a race. Religion is the last on the pedestal of our priorities. Ecclesiastical or shari’a law will not make us Dubai or Singapore.
‘’My grandfather, who died in 1957, was a Babalawo (herbalist), and yet Baba Egbe (elder) in the church. The concoction he prepared against smallpox is still at the back of my father’s house. Yet, my dad was a chairman of a church too.
“Because we are uniquely homogeneous as a race, what binds us together is our tradition and not religion. Hardly can you find any family in Yorubaland that does not co-habit as traditional believers, Muslims and Christians. Introducing religious law into our family will encroach into our traditional family setting.”
Regarding the prohibition on the shari’a panel in Ekiti State, the Yoruba Cultural Renaissance Advocates stated their support for the Ewi of Ado Ekiti.
The group claimed that the Ewi’s statement is crucial for promoting harmony in a varied society and is consistent with the values of secularism and cultural sensitivity.
The YCRA applauded the decision in a statement released by its president, Ifabunmi Esuremilekun, characterising it as a step that fosters religious harmony, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence among the many groups in Ekiti.
Are they aware that the area where Ado-Ekiti is located traditionally belongs to the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti’s stool? What legal structure would this panel employ to settle conflicts, given that many Yoruba Muslims are married to Yoruba Christians under a blend of Islamic, customary, and statutory laws? The gang asked.
It praised the state administration and the monarch for their audacious move to preserve the country’s secularism.
“This choice shows a dedication to upholding secularism and promoting harmony in Ekiti State.
“It is an essential step towards guaranteeing religious harmony, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence among its diverse population.”
Christians in the South-West would be against the creation of a shari’a court in the area, according to Prof. Isaiah Adelowokan, the chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria in Osun State.
“I know of no Christian who would ever advocate for the establishment of a shari’a court in the South-West,” Adelowokan stated.
Therefore, we oppose it. The government has not received any requests to establish a shari’a court in the state, according to Mr. Kolapo Alimi, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment in Osun State.
The state’s tranquilly would not be impacted by a decision on such a request, Alimi clarified.
“We have not received any request for shari’a court in Osun. When we get to the bridge, we will know how to cross it. If we get the request, the government will consider the pros and cons and take appropriate action that will not jeopardise the peace of the state.
“This is a democracy. If they table it, the government will look at it and take appropriate action,” Alimi stated.
According to Balogun, the only thing that is typical throughout the southwestern region are committees that Muslims have established to decide on matters that may come up in their personal lives, such as marriage and divorce.
The Muslim scholar said, “We don’t have constituted shari’a court in any part of the South-West as we have say in Kwara and others.
“What we have are committees or panels set up among the Muslims to address personal issues according to the dictate of our religion but I don’t know why people are now talking about having shari’a court, there is nothing like that.”
According to Apostle Bello Otaru, president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, there isn’t a shari’a court in the state.
“PFN is not aware of operating a shari’a court or plans to start one in Ogun State,” Otaru, who is also the General Overseer of Signs and Wonder Church, better known as Antioch Assembly, clarified.
“In any case, we have cordial relationships with Muslim leaders in the state and we have a platform, Nigeria Inter-Religious Council, NIREC which provides a forum for us to always iron out any contentious issue, so there is peace and religious harmony in the state and that we shall continue to uphold and sustain for the good of all.
The state’s Muslim leaders will be meeting in the coming days to discuss the issue, according to a prominent Muslim leader who wished to remain anonymous.
A shari’a panel has been functioning in Lagos for 20 years, according to Sheikh Abdulrahman Ahmad, the Chief Imam and National Missioner of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria.
“We have had shari’a panel in Lagos for almost 20 years now. There is no controversy about it. It’s not anything new in Lagos and it has been operating without any itch or controversy whatsoever. That’s why I said people should not bring any sentiment into it.
In addition, “What we must know is that there is a provision in the Nigerian Constitution for Muslims to have shari’a court if they want.
“It is a constitutional matter and the shari’a court as presently constituted applies to what they call Muslim Personal Law, marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody of children and so on. This is what the shari’a court is about.”