Crisis Rocks National Assembly Over Bill To Include More Islamic Laws In Nigerian 1999 Constitution
Members of the House of Representatives have been 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 on Friday, Misau said Islamic Law was not being given enough description as enshrined in the current constitution.
He 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 lawmaker said: “The 1999 Consitution provides for Personal Islamic law. The Constitution did not envisage the dynamism and development coming into the country. The constitution did not recognise Islamic Personal Law, Islamic Company Law. Islamic International Law and Islamic Public Law. In 2003, Jaiz Bank came up under commercial Islamic law, and in 2019, another bank, Tajbank.
“If you look at personal law, it only encompasses marriage, divorce, and inheritance. Therefore, what we are requiring is the removal of personnel in sections 24, 262, 277 and section 288. So that other relevant laws like Islamic commercial laws, Islamic company laws, and Islamic international law can have a place in the constitution.”
This bill generated a lot of arguments during the plenary session on Thursday. 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.
One of the lawmakers who called for the non-passage of the bill is Aliu Kuye, (APC, Somolu Federal Constituency, Lagos).
He said the passage of the bill would contradict the principle of secularism in the country.
He said: “Let me start by saying that the constitution mandates our government that they shall not adopt any religion as a state religion. Meaning that Nigeria is a secular state. Number 2 is the fact that section 38 is very clear as to the right given to all Nigeria in terms of choice of religion and how they worship.
“Section 2 goes further to state that Nigeria is a federation consisting of the Federal Gov’t and then the state gov’t gives the state the liberality to adopt whatever kind of law they want to use in governing their people. That is why we have some states that have all these Sharia laws and all of that. They are permitted to do it. But the constitution as a ground norm that governs all of us gives us only one right, the right to choose whichever one will want. And we therefore should not allow this constitution to be filled with frivolities that is supposed to be the mandate of the state.
“We have all been clamouring for physical federalism, giving all power to the best to do it the way they want. To do it in the way of the culture of their people. That is why I want to implore the mover of this motion to please step down the amendment for the time being so that we can deliberate more on it. As we are speaking now, people are hearing us thinking that we want to promote one religion over the others.”
