The House of Representatives has struck down a bill proposing a constitutional amendment to allow expansion of Islamic law in Nigeria’s 1999 constitution.
The bill, championed by Aliyu Missau, wants to eliminate the word “personal” from sections 24, 262, 277, and 288 where “Islamic law” appears in the constitution.
At the heart of the proposal was the modification to Section 262 (1), which currently limits the Sharia Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction.
The section reads, “The Sharia Court of Appeal shall, in addition to such other jurisdiction as may be conferred upon it by an Act of the National Assembly, exercise such appellate and supervisory jurisdiction in civil proceedings involving questions of Islamic personal law”.
Missau, a first-time lawmaker representing the Misau/Dambam Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, had argued that the restriction fails to accommodate modern developments such as Islamic banking.
“The 1999 constitution provided for personal Islamic law. The constitution did not envisage the dynamism and development that may come into the country.
“For instance, in 2003, the constitution did not foresee the advent of Jaiz Bank which operates under commercial Islamic law,” he said.
While northern lawmakers rallied behind the amendment on the grounds that it would encourage the embrace of Islamic commercial and international law, their southern counterparts opposed the bill.
Solomon Bob, representing Abua/Odual and Ahoada East constituency of Rivers state, warned that removing “personal” from the aforementioned sections of the 1999 Constitution would expand Islamic law beyond its intended scope.
Quoting Bob, “The implication is that if the word ‘personal’ is removed, Islamic law would have broader implications. The word ‘personal’ was put there for a reason.”
Bamidele Salam, who represents the Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore, and Ejigbo Federal Constituency of Osun State, said: “As students of history, we all know the background of this particular section during the various constitutional assemblies of 1979, 1989, and 1999. The drafters of the constitution were highly sensitive to religion,” he said.
“At the 1979 constitutional assembly, this particular section was very contentious until the military intervened to halt further debate, stating that the application of Islamic law would be restricted to personal matters like estates.
“We must be careful with any changes to the constitution that could further widen divisions in Nigeria. In any case, the matters my colleague seeks to address are already covered by existing laws.”