Christian and Muslim leaders on Monday clashed over the planned inauguration of Shari?a arbitration panel across the South-Western states of Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo and Lagos by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.

This comes as the proponents of the Islamic code said there was no going back on their decision to set up the panel to adjudicate and resolve issues among the South-West Muslim Ummah.

The President, Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in Ekiti State, Dr Hammed Bakare and the Chairman of the Shari?a Committee of Oyoland, Dr Rafiu Bello, told The PUNCH in separate interviews on Monday that the Shari?a panel would be inaugurated despite the opposition to it.

The Shari?a council had moved to establish an arbitration panel in Oyo town to adjudicate and sit on matters relating to Muslims.

However, the development was opposed by the government and other leaders.

Following this, the planned panel inauguration billed to hold at the Muslim Community Islamic Centre in Mobolaje Area, Oyo, on January 11 was suspended indefinitely.

Last week, the panel held its maiden sitting at the Ekiti Central Mosque, Ado Ekiti with three Khadis forming the panel.

Apparently uncomfortable with the idea, the state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Dayo Apata, (SAN) said the existing legal structure in the state did not recognise the shari?a court or arbitration panel.

?There is an existing legal structure in Ekiti State (the Customary Court, Customary Court of Appeal and High Court) that has been handling issues relating to Islamic, Christian and traditional marriages and inheritance without any rancour or agitation,? he argued.

Aligning with the state government?s stance, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, ordered the dissolution of the Sharia panel ?in the interest of peaceful coexistence and law and order in the community.??

Adejugbe spoke in Ado Ekiti on Saturday during a meeting he held with the chiefs and indigenes of the community and the Chief Imam and President of the League of Imams and Alfas in the Southwest, Edo and Delta states, Sheikh Jamiu Kewulere; and other Muslim leaders in Ado Ekiti over the Shari?a panel issue.

Speaking with The PUNCH, the SCN President in Ekiti State, Bakare said the panel inaugurated by Muslims in Ekiti State ??will not be disbanded nor dissolved as being canvassed in some quarters.??

Bakare, who said that the arbitration was not a court, but part of the dictates of the Islamic religion for the promotion of peace, added that the constitution guaranteed the right of worship.

The Islamic cleric queried, ?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.??

He added, ?The panel is an arbitration that we established for ourselves, Muslims, and not even compulsory for all Muslims, only Muslims that are willing to abide by the dictates of Allah as written in the Quran.

?It is just part of our way of worship, to do things according to the dictates of the Almighty God. That panel is for us, not a court or anything like that. It is an arbitration panel that every organization can establish within themselves.?

Bakare, who said that the panel existed in some Southwest states, including Lagos and Oyo States, affirmed, ?It is not a new thing. We have examples even in churches where they arbitrate among themselves without resorting to established courts.

?It is just to settle matters within us and the constitution of Nigeria gives us a guarantee of worship. It is part of worship in Islam to make sure that there is peace in your domain, organisation, society.

?There is nothing anybody can 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.

??That is what we are doing. The constitution of Nigeria guarantees freedom of worship and practice. That is all we are doing.??

He berated the opponents of the panel, saying, ?All those tags against the panel are not genuine, they are just an attempt to discredit it. When they hear anything about Muslims, about shari?a, they don?t want to hear whether there is anything good in it or not, whether it concerns them or not.

?We believe that nobody can stop us from being Muslims. That is how we see it. We have nothing against anybody, we are not fighting anybody, we are just peace-loving Muslims, we want to contribute to peace because if there is peace somewhere, it will translate to peace in the society.?

The Islamic leader argued that the arbitration panel did not violate any law.

Speaking in the same vein, the Chairman of the Shari?a Committee of Oyoland, Bello insisted that the inauguration of the panel in Oyo State would proceed as planned.

Bello explained that a new date for the panel inauguration would be announced in due course.

He said similar panels already existed in other parts of Oyo State, including Saki, Kishi, and Ogbomoso, and that the controversy surrounding the Oyo town panel stemmed from ?the initial mislabelling of the panel as a Shari?a court.?

?A new date for the inauguration has not been announced yet. The inauguration of the shari?a panel in Oyo town cannot be stopped.

It was only postponed, and we will announce the specific date for it in due time, Insha Allah. It is our right, and there is no going back on setting up the panel. It poses no threat or harm to this society,? he declared.

Bello also dismissed concerns raised by some traditional rulers, emphasising that the constitution provides for such panels.

Across the South-West, Bello said the panels had before now existed in Lagos, parts of Oyo and Ekiti while the zonal headquarters for the Supreme Council for Shari?a in Nigeria was in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

?We are not concerned about the pronouncements of certain traditional rulers. The Constitution allows for this, and we have the Supreme Council for Shari?a in Nigeria supporting us,? he added.

Furthermore, Bello explained that the panel was designed for willing Muslims to resolve issues such as inheritance disputes, marital conflicts, and disagreements among friends.

According to him, Muslim scholars will act as arbitrators, providing guidance based on the Quran without imposing penalties, unlike formal courts.

?This panel is meant solely for willing Muslims. Those alleging that it is part of a Fulani or Hausa agenda are ignorant. It will handle disputes between couples, friends, and others in line with Islamic principles.

?Panels like this already exist in Osogbo, Kishi, Saki, Ogbomoso, and Ibadan, so why is there an issue with Oyo town?? he explained.

When asked under what legal framework the panel operates, Bello reiterated that it functions as an independent arbitration body, which does not require approval from the State House of Assembly.

?The Nigerian Constitution has provisions for it. The only mistake was in calling it a shari?a court instead of a sharia arbitration panel. This is purely for settling disputes among willing Muslims. Those behind the uproar are religious bigots,? Bello alleged.

Osun State Coordinator, SCN, Mallam AbulGaniy Ezra, said Governor Ademola Adeleke would be persuaded to allow the shari?a panel in the state transmute to a full-fledged court.

Ezra disclosed that the panel was inaugurated in the state in 2005.

According to him, the panel had resolved several civil matters, noting that the 1999 Constitution provided for the establishment of Shari?a courts in the country.

He also said those opposed to the court?s establishment in South- West were not Christians, but those ignorant about the operation of the Shari?a system of arbitration.

?Let me clarify that what people are referring to as the Shari?a court is actually the Shari?a arbitration panel and it has been held for about 20 years now in Osun.

?It holds regular sittings. They hold their arbitration every last Wednesday or Thursday of the month. The panel has been sitting at the Muslim Community Secretariat in Osogbo for close to 20 years now.

?The inauguration was done at Oja-Oba Central Mosque, Osogbo in 2005 and since then, sharia arbitration has been going on.

?We don?t want to stop at that, what we intend to do is persuade the Osun State governor, even though is our right but we don?t take it like that, we see it as something that can be agreed on mutually.

?We have common law courts here which are adjudicating on every issue that concerns citizens and non-citizens living in this country. Also, we have the customary court which is a provision of the Constitution, same as 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 pointed out.

The Amir of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria and one of the proponents of the panel, Amir Sirajudeen Abdulazeez said there was nothing wrong with establishing a Shari?a court in Ondo State, explaining that it was part of Muslim rights.

He also expressed optimism that the planned creation of the panel would take place in the state sooner or later.

?For you to say that Muslims do not have the right to adjudicate their lives based on their beliefs is nothing but an affront to their constitutionally given rights. It is nothing but subjugation, exploitation, and oppression.

?If Muslims are a minority in Ondo State, can?t we talk? If it is in our constitution, can?t we demand it? If civil law has its roots in the Bible, customary law has its roots in idolatry ? why can?t Muslims speak?

?Whether Shari?a court will happen in those states, it?s a matter of time. Muslims are agitating for it, demanding it. When the time comes, the government will listen to us. And when the time comes, the government feels like establishing it, they will establish it,? he declared.

However, the state Chairman of the Ondo State chapter of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Pastor Joshua Opayinka said Shari?a court was not feasible in the state.

He noted that it could only be replicated in the north where Muslims are in the majority.

The cleric said, ?That (creation of Shari?a court) is an aberration. Why Shari?a court in Ondo State? No, that is not possible. Can the same thing be replicated in the north?

?They say that is their right. Nobody can stop them. Can we have full Christian worship activities in the north? Can they allow it? If they are canvassing that, we need to sit down at the round table and strike a balance.

?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.?

The Organizing Secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation Afenifere, Abagun Kole Omololu, said importing religious law into the Yoruba culture would not be tolerated, stating that the focus of the South-west region was development.

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.?

The Yoruba Cultural Renaissance Advocates expressed its support for the Ewi of Ado Ekiti regarding the ban on the Shari?a panel in Ekiti State.

The group stated that the Ewi?s pronouncement aligns with the principles of secularism and cultural sensitivity, and is essential for fostering unity in a diverse society.

In a statement issued by its President, Ifabunmi Esuremilekun, the YCRA commended the decision, describing it as a move that promotes religious harmony, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence among the various groups in Ekiti.

?Do they realize that the land hosting Ado-Ekiti belongs historically to the stool of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti? Considering that many Yoruba Muslims are married to Yoruba Christians under a combination of customary, Islamic, and statutory laws, what legal framework would this panel use to resolve disputes?? the group queried.

It lauded the monarch and the state government for taking a bold step to uphold the nation?s secularity.

?This decision demonstrates a commitment to preserving secularism while fostering unity in Ekiti State. It is a vital step toward ensuring religious harmony, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence among its diverse population,? the statement concluded.

The Osun State Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Prof. Isaiah Adelowokan, said Christians in the South-West would oppose the establishment of a shari?a court in the region.

Adelowokan said, ?I know no Christian who will ever say Shari?a court should come to South-West. We are not in support of it.?

Osun State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, disclosed that the government has not received any request for the inauguration of a Shari?a court in the state.

Alimi explained that a decision on such a request would not affect the peace of the state.

?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 said.

Emeritus Professor of Islamic Studies and Chief Imam of Egba Gbagura, Abeokuta, Prof Kamaldeen Balogun, affirmed that there is no constituted Shari?a court in Ogun State and any part of the South-West.

Balogun said that what is only common across the southwest are committees set up by the Muslims to adjudicate personal affairs that may arise among the Muslims like issues of marriage and divorce, among others.

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.?

The President of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Apostle Bello Otaru, said he was not aware of a Shari?a court operating in the state.

Otaru, who is also the General Overseer of Signs and Wonder Church also known as Antioch Assembly, explained, ?PFN is not aware of operating of Shari?a court or plans to start one in Ogun State.

?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.?

However, a top Muslim leader who craved anonymity, disclosed that the Muslim leaders in the state would be meeting on the matter in the next few days.

The National Missioner and Chief Imam of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheik Abdulrahman Ahmad, acknowledged that a Shari?a panel had been operating in Lagos for 20 years.

?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,? he offered.

He added, ?What we must know is that there is a provision in the Nigerian Constitution for Muslims to have Shari?a court if they want. (The PUNCH)

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