From FAROUK ADAMU YAKASAI, Gusau
NIGERIAN Muslims have been urged to stand in
unison and demand for a constitutional amendment to resolve the issue of
high courts which has made them unanswerable to states practicing Sharia.
Governor Ahmad Sani of Zamfara state made the
call as part of contribution at a forum organized by the Muslim Students
Society of Nigeria (MASSN) in Abuja, with the theme: �Democracy, Sharia and
Challenges of Good Governance�.
According to a statement signed by the Director
of Press Affairs to the Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Birnin-Magaji, Governor
Sani had observed that the constitution has given high courts general
jurisdiction over Sharia issues as well as cases of Common Law.
He noted that in some states some high court
judges are Christians �and even where you have high court judges as Muslims
in a number of cases, you find that they are not conversant with Sharia as
well as cases related to issues affecting it�.
He recalled that when Sharia was relaunched in
Zamfara state, government had faced problem with the police as they always
tried to boycott the Sharia courts by sending accused to magistrate courts,
adding: �But when we looked at the constitution and found that they are
state courts, we passed law prohibiting such courts from handling cases
involving Muslims�.
The pioneer Sharia reintroduction governor,
therefore, stressed on Nigerian Muslims to continue the struggle to ensure
that the constitution is amended, �because we Muslims do not believe and
accept any law other than that of Allah SWT.�
Governor Sani similarly reminded the Muslim
Umma on the need to consider that because they have Sharia implemented in 12
states of the federation, the struggle is over, saying: �We must ensure that
we live as Muslims, we must die as Muslims and the only way we can achieve
this is for us to continue the struggle�.
He also charged the Muslims to demand for a
federal Sharia Court of Appeal because without it, he said, they should not
see themselves as having Sharia legal system being implemented 100 per cent.
�While we are struggling to ensure that we
practice our religion 100 per cent as directed by Allah SWT, the
non-believers are trying to stop us and by all means from practicing our
religion�, he added.
Governor Sani, in the clarion call also,
pointed out that it is the responsibility of every Muslim to be Sharia-compliant
�and if all Muslims are Sharia compliant, the electoral process in Nigeria
-changed or not- will not affect the Sharia implementing states�, he further
explained.
He equally suggested that Muslims should adopt
Sharia from their homes, societies, villages, towns and cities and with
patience and fear of Allah SWT, �we will achieve whatever we desire to
achieve�.
