The Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), Abuja, Prof. Ibrahim Abdul Kaldir Abikan, has said that opposition to the Shari’ah Panels in the southern part of the country, especially the South West is needless, as misconceptions are the driving force behind such rejection.

He said this on Sunday in Abuja at the annual Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN), FCT Abuja Branch, Ramadan iftar (breaking of fast) and award night 2025, with the theme, ‘Faith, Law, and Social Responsibility’.

Daily Trust reports that there have been heated discussions on the inauguration of Shari’ah panels in parts of south west, with protests and counter-protests on the matter.

Prof. Abikan, however, said that the issue of the Shari’ah Panel is supposed not to be a thing of controversy because it is a Muslim way of providing for themselves what the government has failed to provide for them over the years, since independence.

“The Muslims in the South West and other southern parts of Nigeria have been living as Muslims, even before our independence, before the arrival of colonial masters. They’ve been attending to their personal issues, their marriages, divorce, custody of children, inheritance and everything having that has to do with their family. All those things are part of their family life. So, it has been existing.

“When we became government as a nation, it becomes a duty of the government to make provisions for all these people of different beliefs, different languages, in a way to ensure that their family life is well taken care of. Whereas, for the non-Muslims, there is adequate provision for them, particularly in the southern Nigeria.

“In northern Nigeria, we do not have that problem, because, we have had a system of government that is Islamic for a century, even before the arrival of colonial masters. So, it was difficult to uproot that throughout the colonial history. But for the South Western and South Southern Nigeria and South Eastern Nigeria, where there is a significant number of Muslims, particularly in the South West, the government has not made that provision.

“Whereas, non-provision of those institutions is contrary to the constitutional provisions, because section 37 and 38 of the Constitution, these are two fundamental provisions of fundamental human rights law, having to do with the right to private family life. There cannot be society without families,” Abika speaking on ‘The Constitutional Rights to Islamic Personal Law: A case study of the creation of Shariah Panels in Southern Nigeria’ said.

The NIALS helmsman said the government must make provisions that will take care of the family needs of every citizen, since for Christians, there is a provision for their family life under the Marriage Act, which also recognizes church marriages and registry marriages, thus the need for Muslims to enjoy their constitutional guaranteed rights.

He said, “So, they now organized themselves in the mosque that any Muslim family that is having issue, we have experts in Islamic law who can help you resolve the problems. And they have been doing this over the years. In Lagos, Oyo, in Ogun and in Osun states, as far back as 2002-2003, we have had this panel all over.

“So, the people who created this issue recently, they are more of politicization than the real objective of solving Muslims’ problems. The call to action again is for us, the government of those states to see to the fact that they are not helping their state, if they do not provide institutions that need to take care of problems of Muslim family,” Abikan said.

Also, a Muslim cleric and public affairs commentator, Mallam Abu Jabir Abdullah Musa Abdul, popularly known as ‘Pen Abdul’ said that it is not even a privilege, but a right to have these Shari’ah panels, which in the north already have in the Shari’ah courts, but not in the south, or south-west.

“The issue of Shari’ah panel started by 2000, that’s 25 years ago. They had a meeting, the Muslim communities there in the southwestern Ibadan, then they went to Lagos and they started, discussing this Shari’ah panel. And it has been in existence. But, you know, as we are in a political era, everything is politicized.

“I think what we need to do is to enlighten people more about the positive things that are surrounding it, so that they will embrace it without being forced to embrace it. At least at private level, they can be able to resolve their issues within the confines, of the legal frame of what they actually trust and believe in.

“I think that will go a long way in settling a lot of disputes, because if they believe in the sources of their Shari’ah and then they say this ruling is coming from the Shira, I think there will be a lot of dispute resolutions and people will submit easily to the judgments of the Shari’ah panel.

“And if it is properly managed, even the non-Muslims will now see the beauty of it because it is all about justice. Everyone wants justice. So if the Muslims actually succeed it is fine for all, because it has been there,” Abdul said.

Earlier, Alhaji Al-Bashir Lawal Likko, the Chairman, MULAN FCT Abuja branch, said that Shari’ah panels are already operating in Lagos and some other states in South West.

“Because under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, section 37, 38, 39 and section 40, talks about the human rights of each citizen of Nigeria.

“So for a Muslim, as a Shari’ah person, personal law, divorce, marriage, custody and whatever, is his personal right. So, he doesn’t need any consent from anybody to introduce that right. Because as a Nigerian, he has that right to have a personal life as a Muslim wherever he found himself in the country.

“We are surprised that some of our brothers from the South West are raising eyebrows with respect to what our Muslim brothers in the South West are agitating for. It is uncalled for. We are trying to enlighten all,” Likko said.