Speaking with Journalists on Sunday, the State Chairman of the Forum, Barrister Abbas Mu’azu claimed that some applicants with certificates in Adult Education, Bsc Hausa, Bsc Arabic etc have applied for the positions in the ongoing recruitment process.
According to him, for someone to occupy the office of a Shariah Judge, he should have a vast knowledge of Islamic law and basic general law to enable him to take fair decisions on matters of life and death.
“Even those who hold a Diploma in Shariah and Civil law are not qualified to be Judges because this is a two years course. How much do you know of the law that you can assume the position of a judge? he stated.
He further argued that “In our candid opinion, it is not right for even people who are holders of diploma in Shariah and Civil law to apply for Shariah judge bench and some of them we could notice that they are holders of adult education, Bsc Hausa, Bsc Arabic. Arabic is a mere language and doesn’t necessarily mean someone who is vast in Islamic law.”
The legal practitioner also revealed that the forum has recently made a written observation to the relevant authorities including, the Judicial Service Commission, State Chief Judge and Governor Mohammed Abubakar on the need to make amend in the process of recruiting new Shariah judges.
” We feel this is a very sensitive issue that shouldn’t be taken lightly. For someone to assume the position of Shariah judge, the individual should be very vast in Islamic law,” he advised.