KADUNA, Nigeria – July 13, 2025 — The Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN) has called on the House of Representatives Constitution Review Sub-committee to amend key sections of the 1999 Constitution in order to broaden the jurisdiction of Sharia Courts of Appeal. The council believes the current legal scope, which limits these courts to Islamic personal law, is discriminatory and undermines the rights of Muslim citizens.
Speaking during the North-West Zonal Public Hearing on the constitutional review held in Kaduna, Dr. Nafi’u Baba-Ahmed, Secretary General of the SCSN, argued that removing the word “personal” from Sections 262 and 277 of the constitution would empower Sharia Courts to adjudicate a wider range of civil disputes in accordance with Islamic law.
“The present restrictions placed on the Sharia Court of Appeal amount to unequal access to justice for Muslims,” he stated.
According to Dr. Baba-Ahmed, Muslims with civil cases often find themselves before judges unfamiliar with Islamic jurisprudence, resulting in legal outcomes that may not align with their religious obligations. The council sees the proposed change as essential to ensuring fair and culturally relevant legal recourse for Muslim litigants.
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In addition to judicial reform, the council voiced firm opposition to proposed amendments granting individual states full control over mineral and natural resources found within their boundaries. The SCSN warned that such changes could intensify regional divisions and threaten national unity.
“The move to allow states full resource control, while allocating just 25% of revenue to the federation account, would unfairly benefit oil-producing regions at the expense of national equity,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He emphasized that Nigeria’s oil infrastructure and wealth were developed with national resources and should therefore remain under federal jurisdiction to preserve collective ownership and unity.
The council also raised objections to a bill seeking to automatically adopt international human rights treaties once ratified by the executive, without legislative oversight. According to the SCSN, such provisions might introduce values inconsistent with Nigeria’s cultural and religious heritage, compromising national sovereignty.
Further concerns were expressed over the proposal to commute death sentences for pregnant women to life imprisonment. Instead, the council suggested deferring executions until after childbirth and breastfeeding, maintaining alignment with both justice and compassion.
On the topic of electoral reform, the SCSN recommended that responsibilities intended for a new Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission be retained under the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to avoid bureaucracy and unnecessary spending.
In the area of gender representation, the council criticized proposed gender-based reserved seats in legislative houses, stating that such provisions could be seen as discriminatory against men and redundant, given that the constitution already ensures equal political participation for all genders.
The council also expressed a neutral stance on reverting to a parliamentary system, suggesting that such a systemic shift should only proceed following a thorough and unified constitutional review to ensure clarity and national coherence.
Regarding local government structures, the SCSN insisted that all states should be treated equally, rejecting the idea of granting constitutional recognition to Lagos State’s 37 development councils alone.
The North-West public hearing, held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hall in Kaduna, was presided over by Hon. Madaki Aliyu-Sani, Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. He reassured attendees that all inputs from stakeholders would be taken into serious consideration during the constitution review process.
The ongoing constitutional review is currently evaluating 86 proposed bills, covering areas such as judicial reform, decentralization, resource governance, national security, electoral processes, and inclusive representation.
(Reported by NAN)
