Forum seeks establishment of Shariah court in Oyo

THE Elders Consultative Forum of the Supreme Council for Shariah in Oyo State has called on the state government to establish a Shariah court in the state.

The chairman of the forum, Alhaji Lasun Sanusi, made the call on Sunday in Ibadan during the forum’s maiden seminar on ‘Shariah Court Practice and Procedure’.

Sanusi said that the practice of Shariah is capable of reducing criminality and promoting good governance and peaceful environment.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said there had been independent panels in operation in Oyo, like in other states of the South-West, which was established by some Muslims to create an avenue for the entertainment of cases or settlement of disputes among Muslims in accordance with the Islamic law.

He said that the panel required government recognition through the establishment of Shariah court so that its verdicts could be backed by law and adhere to by parties.

According to him, the Nigerian constitution recognises freedom of religion and Muslims are entitled to operate within the parameter of the Islamic law.

“Our demand is that whatever Islamic religion entails should be given to us so that Muslims will know that they have the right to practise their religion in accordance with Section 38 of the Nigeria Constitution,” he said.

Sanusi said that sharing property, divorce and other aspects of Muslims’ lives must be in accordance with the Islamic law and government has not facilitated the workings of these rights which are already in the constitution.

He called on the Oyo State government to establish Shariah Court since it has established customary court.

He described the operation of the Shariah justice system as one of the ways to successfully tackle banditry, armed robbery and other contemporary security issues in the country.

In his lecture, a judge of the Customary Court of Appeal in Oyo State, Justice Tajudeen AbdulGaniyu, said the Shariah panel should be seen as a temporary measure while the ultimate goal is the creation of Shariah court.

AbdulGaniyu, who spoke on ‘The Shariah Panel in Oyo State: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward’, urged the various strata of the Muslim community to increase efforts at peacefully demanding the creation of Shariah Court in Oyo State.

The judge said most of the cases handled by the panel in the last 20 years were either unresolved or withdrawn, describing this as an indication of lack of power of enforcement by the panel.

Also speaking, a judge of the Shariah Court of Appeal in Kwara State, Justice Abdur-Raheem Sayi, called for fairness in the decision of the panel and more awareness about its functionality.

In a remark, the president of Shariah panel in Oyo State, Sheikh Ahmad Olawale, called on stakeholders to support the panel so that its decision would be recognised by law and respected by parties.