Southwest Women Suffer Most Due To Lack Of Sharia Courts

Despite the sizable Muslim population, Justice Abdur-Raheem Sayi, a Khadi of the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Ilorin, has called the lack of Sharia Courts in the South West subregion of Nigeria an anomaly.

Speaking at the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni’s (UMA) pre-Ramadan lecture, he claimed that it is against Muslims’ fundamental human rights as protected by the Nigerian Constitution to deny them access to Sharia courts for the resolution of matters like marriage, divorce, and inheritance.

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He claims that women are disproportionately impacted because Sharia Courts could have avoided the breakdown of many Muslim marriages in the South West.

According to Justice Sayi, the South West’s legal system cannot ignore the needs of a sizable Muslim community.

He claimed that because the law does not acknowledge or control their family affairs, many Muslims endure silent suffering.

“There must be suitable legal frameworks to oversee the affairs of Muslims in this subregion if their presence is acknowledged. For example, a Muslim in Lagos State who wants to dissolve their marriage has no legally recognized court to go to,” he said.

According to Justice Sayi, the Lagos High Court has frequently referred Muslim marriage and divorce cases to the Independent Sharia Panel, a non-official organization founded by the state’s Muslim community.

He clarified that because customary courts’ decisions conflict with Islamic legal principles, they are unable to handle Islamic marriage and inheritance cases in an efficient manner.

He gave examples of how courts in the states of Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, and Ondo refused to hear cases pertaining to Islamic marriages, inheritance, and child custody, leaving numerous issues unresolved.

Since many men leave their wives and children unpunished, Justice Sayi reaffirmed that women are disproportionately affected by this legal loophole. He called for government representatives to address this injustice, especially female leaders.