Since 2000, twelve states in northern Nigeria have added criminal law to the jurisdiction of Sharia (Islamic law) courts. Sharia has been in force for many years in northern Nigeria, where the majority of the population is Muslim. However, the manner in which Sharia has been applied to criminal law in Nigeria so far has raised a number of serious human rights concerns.It has also created much controversy in a country where religious divisions run deep, and where the federal constitution specifies that there is no state religion.
Sharia is seen by many Muslims as an entire system of guidelines and rules which encompass criminal law, personal status law, and many other aspects of religious, cultural, and social life. The concern now is about human rights violations resulting from the implementation of the Sharia.
The sharia law is a system of conducts that are strictly adhered to by Muslims in the Northern part of Nigeria. Over time, there has been clash between the sharia law and human rights, and the clash has been in debate for a while now. It is high time the government re-evaluated the application of the sharia law as it conflicts with the fundamental human rights. The application of the sharia law does not have to be entirely amended, however, amending aspects of the sharia law that inherently violate the fundamental rights of individuals is highly important, which includes discrimination against the female gender. The sections of the law that breach the fundamental rights should be removed, elimination of cruel judgements on individuals such as flogging, amputations and so on, cases should not only be judged based on confessions-where evidences would suffice.
Sharia has been a major body of civil and criminal code of conducts in 12 Muslim states in Nigeria with the presence of sharia courts as well. However, the manner in which sharia law has been applied to criminal law in Nigeria so far has raised a lot of controversy concerning Han rights. There is no advocacy for or against the sharia law, the concern is on the violations on human rights which arise from the implementation of the sharia law. It is pertinent that the aspects of the sharia laws that violate the human rights be looked upon and provisions be made to restructure such aspects that tend to disregard the fundamental human rights.