A Nigerian lawyer, Kola Alapinni has stated that any attempt to sneak more Islamic laws into the Nigerian 1999 constitution will fail.

Newsmen had reported that members of the House of Representatives were earlier involved in intense arguments over “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Review the Description of Islamic Law in the Constitution and for Related Matters.”

The proposed law sponsored by Aliyu Bappa Misau (PDP, Bauchi) is targeted to expand the application of Islamic Law from personal matters to other civil issues including contract, company and international disputes.

Defending his motion in a video seen by SaharaReporters, Misau had said Islamic Law was not being given enough description as enshrined in the current constitution.

He had said Nigeria had witnessed major developments to warrant the amendments of the description to warrant the inclusion of other civil areas of the Muslim laws.

The bill had generated a lot of arguments during the plenary session.

SaharaReporters observed that a large number of lawmakers from the Southern region were against it and urged the house to drop it. But the bill was supported by many northern lawmakers.

Reacting to this development in a letter addressed to the office of the Senate President dated Thursday 31st October 2024, Kola Alapinni mentioned that application of Islamic law is a breach of 1999 constitution and violation of fundamental human rights.

He said, “We acted as Counsel in two blasphemy trials that took place in the Kano State High Court and the Court of Appeal, Kano Division between 2020 and 2022 and continue to act as legal advisers to numerous other blasphemy cases in Northern Nigeria.

“One of those cases is now at the Supreme Court and the appellant Mr. Yahaya Sharif-Aminu (a.k.a The Kano Singer) is challenging the constitutionality of the Sharia/Islamic Penal Code as currently being practised in fourteen States of Northern Nigeria. Please, see attached our Brief of Argument filed before the Supreme Court in Yahaya Sharif-Aminu vs Attorney-General of Kano State & Governor of Kano State (SC/CR/1454/2022

It is our argument that the Sharia/Islamic law as currently being practised in Northern Nigeria is a violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and also a violation of the obligations of Nigeria under international human rights law which it has signed up to voluntarily.

“Though, the constitution allows component States of the Federation through their State assemblies to enact Laws, those Laws must be in consonant with the Constitution. The Constitution remains the grundnorm.

“This attempt to amend the Constitution through the Bill sponsored by Hon. Aliyu Bappa Misau is a feeble attempt to expand the Sharia/Islamic Law which is limited in the Constitution to Islamic Law ONLY through the back door.

“It will fail! We are happy that the National Assembly stood this Bill down for further discussion. It is pertinent to note that the details of this Bill was not even presented to the members of the National Assembly to study. It is a ruse. If the Sharia Law/Islamic Law as being practised by fourteen Northern States of Nigeria is Constitutional, then there will be no need to seek for an expansion through this Bill.”