COURSE CODE: RIS 437

COURSE TITLE: SHARIAH IN NIGERIA

The meaning of Shariah

Shariah means caring, protecting, social reconstructing welfarism and giving you what you
deserve.

1.The practice of Shariah in Nigeria before 1900

2. Shariah practice in Nigeria before 1900 to 1960.

3. Shariah practice in Nigeria between 1960 to 1999.

4. The practice of Shariah in Nigeria between 1999 to date.

The word Shariah literally means the way to watering place, the path to be trodden by people.
Technically, Shariah is a number of divine institutions that were made for the guidance of
mankind. It is a complete and comprehensive way of life that is wide in scope, divine in Nature
and moral in value. It is a combination of divine guidance, it's a fulfillment of the covenant of
Allah to mankind through Prophet Adam when Allah says in Q2V38. By this definition of
Shariah, it shows that it is a law that is eternal and immutable. It is a law that has its with
creation of Man. It is a law that was used by the Prophets before Muhammad and by himself.

Scope of Shariah

Shariah has a wide scope, it covers aspects of Ibadah. These are the rituals contained in the
realm of Islam such as; Solat, Zakat, Sawm and Hajj.

1. Mu'amalat (Transactions): This covers the rule on Uqud, Nikah and similar others. It also
touches relationship between Muslims and fellow Muslims and between Muslims and people of
other faith.
2. Al-Aqidah (Issues of Islamic theology): This aspect discusses issues of Islam faith (Al-Iman),
issues of Islamic monotheism (At-Tawheed) and similar others.

3. Al-Uqūbat (the penal laws): These are the various offences under the Islamic criminal law and
their corresponding punishments. These offences are grouped into three in accordance with the
types of punishment they attract. These categories are;

1. Hudud (Fixed Punishments)

2. Qisas (Retaliatory punishments or punishments of equality)

3. Ta'zir (Discretional punishments).

Sources of Islamic Law

The sources of Islamic law are those authorities from where on-the-go laws of Islam are
derived. Scholars of Islam classified these laws into primary and secondary. Their classification
is based on the interaction that occurred between the Prophet and a companion called Mu'àdh bn
Jabal. The prophet sent Mu'âdh as a governor to Uthman and interview him regarding what he
will use as a law on the people. Mu'âdh mentioned the book of Allah, the Sunnah of the Prophet
and his personal efforts. The prophet commended him for the brilliant response and sanctioned
his opinion. On this basis, the primary sources of Islamic law are the Quran and the Sunnah.

The Quran

The literal meaning of Quran is what is to be read. Technically, Al-Quran is an immutable

words of Allah sent through Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to the entire mankind as a guidance for
both their spiritual and mundane affairs. The Quran contains rules that are general in nature and
that requires the effort of Mujtahidūn for interpretation. This is not to meant that there are no
legislative verses that has specific nature. Evidence on the legislative proof of the Quran is
contained in several verses of the book; among which is Q2V2 where Allah says "That's the
book without any doubt, it is a guidance for those that are God-fearing".
 The Sunnah

The Sunnah is the sayings, the deeds and the tacit approval of the prophet on some matters.
The Sunnah of the Prophet is considered a second primary source of Islamic law because Allah
confirmed the words of the prophet to be divine inspiration especially what has to do with the
aspect of Ibaadah. In Q53V3-4 Allah says " He does not speak of his desire, it is nothing but
inspiration sent to him." To further strengthen the Sunnah of the Prophet as a source of law,
Allah say in Q59V7 " Whatever the prophet brings to you, hold fast to it and what he forbids
you, go away from it." Several other verses of the Quran testify the legislative proof of the
Sunnah of the Prophet.

OTHER SOURCES OF ISLAMIC LAW WHICH ARE CONSODERED TO BE

SECONDARY INCLUDE;

Ijmá (Concensus of Opinion)

This is the consensus of Mujtahidūn of a given community over specific matter following the
demise of the Prophet (SAW). Ijmá is an exercise of the flexibility of Islamic law and whatever
is agreed upon by consensus of scholars of high repute becomes a binding rule on the people of
that community during these periods. Evidence to the legislative strength of Ijmá include the
saying of Q4V115 where Allah says " Anybody that content the Prophet after the clear proof had
reached him and follows the path other than that of the believers. We shall leave him with which
he follows and We shall put him in the fire…". The prophet was reported to have sanctioned
Ijmá before his death where he said that " My community will never agree on what is wrong"
this implies that whatever is agreed upon by the consensus is a law to be followed, but its
legislative strength is to be restricted to its period of relevance. There are however some scholars
who argued that Ijmá is restricted to the time of the companions after the Prophet. This position
is contended by many scholars because of its ability to put Islam in a bondage.

Al-Qiyàs (Analogical Deduction)

The is the extension of the legislative strength from its original usage to a new case because
of the relationship that exist between the two cases. It is not disputable that some issues are
contemporary and reference cannot be made to their occurrence during the time of the Prophet.
The case may however be likened to something that happened during the time of the Prophet. An
example is the right to rub on Khufi (Leather socks) the law is extended to rub on Jawrab
(Cotton socks)

ISTIHSÀN (Juristic Preference)

This is the act of avoiding the literal application of a Law in a bid to avoid rigidity in the
practice of Islamic Law. This is a situation whereby the head of the state adopts a law in the
interest of the masses or because the application of the law at a particular period will be harsh on
the people. An example of this is the avoidance of amputation of the hand of a thief at the time of
Hunger by Umar ibn Khattab.

AL-MASÂLIHUL MURSALAH (Unrestricted Public Interest)

This is the same with Istihsân because the two were adopted to create flexibility in the
application of Islamic law, except that while Istihsân bothers itself with what the law makers
considered to be flexible, Al-Masâlihul Mursalah is concerned with what the masses considered
to be an ease for them. Istihsân was adopted by Imam Shafih and Al-Masâlihul Mursalah by
Imam Malik.

URF(Custom)

The custom of a community is considered a law provided such custom does not contravene
the provision of the Quran and the tradition of the Prophet. For example, in Q65V7 Allah
discusses the maintenance of a Woman " Those that are bless with abundance should spend from
their abundance and those that have theirs restricted should spend from what Allah's gives him"
In this verse there is no definition of abundance and the care of a woman is left to the custom of
the community. While #50,000 is considered to be much in maintaining a woman in Nigeria per
month. In places like Saudi Arabia, the #200,000 is considered to be small.
 SHAR'U MAN QABLANA (The law revealed to those before the Muslim
community)

The laws revealed to the Christians and the Jews are binding on Muslims except those that
have been abrogated or those identified to be peculiar with them. The Christians and the Jews are
called the people of the scripture in the Quran and Allah identified them as being closed to
Muslim in their way of worship. This is why Muslims are not allowed to eat from the food of the
idol worshippers but can eat what is prepared by the Christians and the Jews. An example of the
legislative proof of this source is the issue of the punishment of willful homicide or murder and
the legislation of fasting.

AL-ISTĪDLĀL (maintaining status quo)

In Islam, if a law is in existence, the law remains valid except another law comes afterwards
to annul the existing law. By implication, even if it is a customary law that is in existence and the
law is found to be compatible with the provision of the Quran and Sunnah, such a law remains
valid until another law comes to nullify it. An example of this is the law on murder which has
retaliation as its punishment before the law of Islam, the law is retained because it is not
abrogated.

SADDUD DHARĪA (Blocking the means)

In Islam, some actions are disallowed because of the evil that might arise if they are allowed.
An example of this is to insult the idol worshippers. Allah forbids insulting the idol worshippers
because they will, out of enmity insult Allah. It is therefore a proof under Shariah that one should
abstain from doing something because of its evil consequence.

QAULU SAHABIYYUN (The law made by a single companion)

The companions of the Prophet lived with the Prophet and studied his way of life. If a single
companion should make a law, such law is binding on every Muslim provided no other
companion make a law that contradicts his statement. This is because they never said or told
anything out of their own volition but what they heard Prophet said and what they saw him do.
 Objective of Shariah

Imam Al-Ghazāli who died in year 111AH mentioned five objectives of the application of
Shariah. These objectives, he considered to essential and the objectives are the main reasons
while Shariah should be the valid legal system on Earth. And they are-

1. Preservation of Religion: Shariah is applied to preserve the right Religion. If not for Shariah,
human being would have been in confusion regarding the right Religion. With the revelation of
the Quran Allah says in Q3V85 " Whoever desires a religion apart from Islam (submission to the
will of Allah) it shall not be taken from him and in the hereafter, he shall be among the losers."

In Q3V19 Allah says" The only religion in the sight of Allah is Islam and the people of the book
did not differ, except out of mutual jealousy after the knowledge of the truth came to them…"

2. Preservation of Soul: Shariah is out to achieve the objective of preserving the soul of
individual in the community. This is why the Shariah introduces Al-Qisās (the law of equality)
and allows that whoever kills should be killed. In Quran 2V178 Allah "O you who believe the
law of retaliation is prescribed for you in respect of the murders, the free for the free, the slave
for the slave, and the female for the female..."

In Q6V151 Allah says " And do not kill the soul that Allah has forbidden its killing except in a
Just manner."

3. Preservation of Intellect (mind): Shariah is aimed at achieving the objective of protecting the
Intellect of individuals and measures taken in the preservation of Intellect is the prohibition of
intoxicant drink. In Q5V90, the consumption of any type of intoxicant is prohibited and it is
considered a defilement among the hand work of devil. One special thing about Shariah is its
care for the benefit of mankind. And despite the fact that the Quran recognizes it, the utility of
alcohol still condemns its consumption because of its hard to human being.

4. Preservation of Lineage/offspring: The Islamic law is made to preserve the dignity of children
that are born. If not for the law of Allah, many children would have been born bastard. But in
Q17V32 Allah warns that we should not approach illegal sexual relationship, because it is a
mischief on Earth. The Shariah regulates man-woman relationship for the preservation of the
dignity of man on Earth.
5. Preservation of Wealth/Property: If not for Shariah, some dubious people would have
legalized illegality in the embezzlement of people's wealth. In Q2V188 Allah prohibits taken
away people's property by deceit and V275 of the same chapter Allah considers the
embezzlement of people's wealth to be a mischief and therefore forbids Riba'.

These five objectives are the purpose of Shariah and an examination of these objectives shows
that is more concern about the welfare and good living of individuals in the society. And unlike
the assumption of some people, there is lesser punishment than benefit in the Shariah.

Shariah in Nigeria in The Pre-Colonial Era

Before the coming of the colonial masters, Shariah has survived as the law of the land in
what now becomes Nigeria. There existed two different courts; the Alkali courts which hears and
determines civil cases and the Emir courts which determines cases of criminal offences. Sheikh
Abdulkareem al-Maghili wrote a book titled/called Diya ul-Hukaam. This book is considered the
first Kano constitution, and the book discusses the role of a judge. The second Kano constitution
which was written by Usman Dan Fodio is called Risālatul Muluk. These books were the books
of reference by the judges, and the practice of Islamic criminal law was in its fullest then, with
the punishment for the offences of theft, adultery, murder, and similar others agreeing with the
provision of the Shariah.

Shariah in The Colonial Era

In 1900 when the colonial masters came into Nigeria, they met the practice of Shariah as a
formidable legal system, the like of which can only be found at that period in places of Saudi
Arabia, Iran, and Libya. This is because the Jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio was launched in 1804
and Arabic language was already an official language in the Northern region with Islam as the
only flourishing religion. The coming of the white men was about 100 years after the coming of
Uthman Dan Fodio into Nigeria. With the coming of the Colonial masters, the Alkali court was
replaced with the Area court and the Emir court was retained with a lesser jurisdiction of trying
criminal cases with the approval of the residence court, this is because, the residence considered
punishment for criminal offences to be repugnant to social justice, and issues like amputation for
the offence of theft and retaliation for the maiming of a joint were condemned because they were
seen to be mutilation of human body. Gradually, the practice of Islamic criminal law became
watered down and the Emir court could only try offences of civil cases. The position of the
colonial law was injurious to the Muslims because the application of Shariah is considered by
Muslims as an integral part of the religion. However, the status quo was maintained until when it
was clear to Nigerians that the White men will leave the country and Nigeria will be granted
independence.

Shariah in The Post-Independence Era

In 1958, when the arrangement was at its peak for the colonial masters to vacate the country,
a constitutional conference was held in London to decide on the law that will guide the people of
Nigeria. It was then decided that the criminal code should be adopted for use in Southern
Nigeria. Scholars in the Northern Nigeria then agitated for a law that will be more friendly with
Islam. The reason for this agitation was because of an incidence that occurred in Gwandu when
one man called Gubba Tsofo caught a man having affairs with his wife and he killed him. The
case was referred to the Gwandu Emir court and the judgement was that he should be killed for
killing. Offence of this type is considered willful homicide under Islamic law, while under the
residence law, it was considered provocation. This man was then judged under the residence law
and Muslims then recognized the lapses in the residence law and the impossibility of Muslims to
live under such law. In their agitation for a law that could be more Islamic, a panel was set up to
go and study the law in use in Sudan, Iran, and Libya. This committee was under the
chairmanship of Abu Rannat and the committee came up with a law book called the penal code
which was adopted for use by Muslims in the Northern Nigeria as against the criminal code that
is to be used in Southern Nigeria. The difference between the penal code and Islamic law is that
even though the penal code accommodates the punishment in Shariah criminal offences
contained in Shariah criminal law, the punishment for these offences are at variance from what is
obtainable in the Islamic criminal law. For example, while the punishment for theft is amputation
of the hand under the Islamic criminal law, it is imprisonment under the penal code.

After the independence in 1960, the penal code was adopted for use in the Northern Nigeria
and the Republican constitution of 1960 allows for the establishment of Shariah court of appeal
in each of the Northern states of the country. And cases tried under the Shariah court of appeal
are further referred to the Supreme Court for the appeal. The Shariah court of appeal was given a
jurisdiction to hear and determine civil cases in accordance with the Maliki school of law. This
case includes issues of Waqf (endowment), marriage and divorce and Will. The constitution
provided that the court of appeal to have a grand Qadi and three other judges. And it is allowed
by law to hear cases tried by the Area courts. By implication, magistrate court exists to hear case
that are not Islamic and the cases should be appealed to High court. While the Area court is the
trial court for matters to be judged Islamically with the exemption of criminal cases which could
always be referred to the high court by implication.

Five Constitutions in Nigeria

The independence constitution of 1960, the Republican constitution of 1963, the 1979
constitution, the constitution of 1987, and the constitution of 1999. Study the provision for
Islamic law in each constitution?

Section sub section 4 of K

The constitutionality of Shariah in Nigeria constitution.

The Post-Independence Practice of Shariah in Nigeria

With the adoption of the reports of the committee headed by Abu Rannat on the use of the
Northern states Shariah penal code for Muslims in the Northern states. Scholars had continued to
review the contents and the provisions in the penal code and it was confirmed that:

1. Islamic law was recognized as one of the Nigerian laws with the same status with common
law and customarily law.

2. Islamic law was reduced to the narrow confine of Islamic personal law.

3. Criminal law was under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court if the punishment involves
murder or the mutilation of part of the body.

4. From the points above, Islamic law was made subordinate to the English law.

These four points were seen by scholars as a defect in the application of Islamic law in
Nigeria and because the application of Islamic law is considered part of the religion of Islam by
Muslims, there had been various agitation for a review of the law on ground to capture
punishment for criminal offences as contained in the Islamic books of law. And success was not
made until January 2000 when the Zamfara state house of assembly passed the bill into law for
the establishment of new Shariah courts that would serve as trial courts to feed the state Shariah
court of appeal. These Shariah courts were to replace the Area courts and they were established
under section6 sub-section4K of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Eleven
other states followed suit and these are Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Bornu, Kaduna, Yobe,
Bauchi, Gombe, Niger, Jigawa. Out of these twelve states only Zamfara and Kano are original in
the enactment of the Shariah penal code. Five out of the states followed the Zamfara type and
they are Kebbi, Kaduna, Jigawa, Bauchi and Katsina.

The remaining five states adopted Shariah as their legal system without enacting a law except for
Niger state that amended Section68A of the Northern Nigerian penal code to accommodate
Islamic criminal law according to the Maliki school of jurisprudence.

An attempt was made to have a unique and uniform Shariah penal code and the draft is called
Harmonized Shariah Penal Code but it was not adopted by majority of the Shariah friendly
states.

Content of The Shariah Penal Code

The Shariah penal code captures the category offences contained in the Islamic law and these
are.

1. Hudūd and Hudūd related offences.

2. Qisas and Qisas related offences.

3. Tāzir

Hudūd and Hudūd Related Offences

The Hudūd offences are the offences that have their punishments fixed in the Quran and/or
Sunnah of the Prophet, and they are seven in number. These are:

1. Zina (adultery and fornication)

2. Sariqa (theft)

3. Shurbu Khamr (taking intoxicants)

4. Hiraba (rebellion)

5. Qadhf (false accusation for Zina)

6. Qat'u Tariq (armed-robbery)

7. Ridda (apostasy/renegation)

Out of these seven offences, only six are captured in the Shariah penal code but the seventh
one which is Ridda was left out. The reason why apostasy is not captured is because of the
constitutional constraint of freedom of religion which has the support of Quran 2 Verse 256 that
says "There is no compulsion in Religion."

The seven Shariah penal code agreed that the punishment for fornication is one hundred
lashes of the cane and that of adultery is Stoning to death. They agreed that the punishment for
false accusation of Zina is 80 lashes of the cane. They agreed that the punishment for theft of
property that is equaled to the approve quantum (Nisab) is amputation of the hand. They agreed
that the punishment for drinking alcohol is 80 lashes. They agreed that the punishment for
armed-robbery is amputation of the hand if property is stolen and killing armed-robbers if they
kill. They all agreed that the punishment for rebellion against a constituted Islamic authority is
killing of the victims.

An Appraisal of the Provision of Hudud on the Shariah Penal Code

In the Shariah penal code, the offence of Zina is firstly considered and the punishment for
the offence if it occurs between a bachelor and a spinster or between a man and a woman who
are not in under legal wedlock is one hundred lashes of the cane but if it happens between a
married man and a woman, it is stoning to death. The punishment is obtained in section 127 of
the Katsina state Shariah penal code and in section 126 of the Zamfara state Shariah penal code.
 A Sample Trial for the offence of Zina of a Married Woman

A celebrated case of the offence of Zina in the trial of Amma Lawal under the Shariah penal
code of Katsina state. Two years after Amma Lawal was divorced by the husband, she was seen
with pregnancy and was arraigned before the Shariah court of Bakors in Katsina state in the year
2002. When requested to enter a plea, Amma considered that she got the pregnancy outside the
legal wedlock and she accused Yahya Muhammad of being responsible for the pregnancy.
Yahaya Muhammad denied having any relationship with Amma Lawal and because there was no
evidence to convict Yahaya Muhammad, he was acquitted and Amma Lawal was convicted for
the offence and charged for death by stoning. Amma Lawal was displeased with the judgement
of the trial court and therefore with the advice of her counsel, appeal to the upper Shariah court
of Funtua in Katsina state. The upper Shariah court of Funtua upheld the judgement of the trial
court on the ground that Amma Lawal confessed to the offence, and under Islamic law,
pregnancy is taken as an evidence for the commission of Zina. Still displeased with the position
of the upper Shariah court, Amma Lawal filed an appeal with the Katsina state Shariah court of
appeal, where she was acquitted and discharged of the offence in 2003 on the ground that:

1. The implication of confessing to the offence was not adequately explained to Amma Lawal.

2. The police has no right to prosecute a person for the offence of Zina.

3. In the case of Zina, it is the prosecutor that should take an oath of denial.

4. Under Islamic law, there could be dormant that could last for five years or more and Amma
Lawal was divorced two years before being arraigned. Therefore, the pregnancy could be for the
husband that divorced.

5. Under Islamic law, whenever there is confusion in evidence, judgement should be waved.

6. It is allowed under the Islamic law to withdraw confession even after the judgement has been
made.

7. The confession made by Amma Lawal is once, and a single confession is not enough to get
somebody sentenced for the offence of Zina.
8. For the offence of Zina, the Judges that are to sit and decide should not be less than three, but
on the case of Amma Lawal, only one judge sat and made decision.

Based on the grounds of appeal and others, Amma Lawal gained her freedom.

Proving the Offence of Zina

Under the Islamic law, the offence of Zina is proved with:

1. Confession by the culprit(s): The person who confesses and whose confession shall stand must
be matured, a Muslim, a sane person, free from servitude, and not coerced to confess for the
offence.

2. Witnesses: For the offence of Zina to be established, there must be a witness of four
impeccable men testify to the occurrence of the illicit act. These men must be people of integrity
that have the attributes mentioned in the case of confession. A situation where three people
confessed to witnessing the action raw and the fourth person gave a partial evidence of either just
seeing them together or seeing them while coming out of the room, the first three evidences shall
be banished and the three men that bear witness shall be given eighty lashes each for the false
accusation of Zina.

3. In the Maliki school of thought, pregnancy is considered an evidence for the offence of Zina
provided the woman seen with pregnancy gained her freedom from her husband in a period of
over seven years.

4. The evidence of a husband over his wife is given consideration in Shariah. If, however, the
wife maintained that the pregnancy is for the husband and not from outside, the two will be
dissolved and the child belong to the mother.

False Accusation of Zina

All the Shariah penal codes have false accusation for the offence of Zina which was the
second issue discussed and the provision for the offence is in line with what is contained in
Q24V4 which says that anybody who could not produce evidence for accusing others for the
offence of Zina shall be given eighty lashes.
 Shariah in Southern Nigeria

There are establish fact that whenever Islam penetrate a region, it is accompanying by
Shariah. Scholars who wrote on Islam in Southern Nigeria and specifically in Yoruba land were
not certain of exact date Islam got to Yoruba land. It was however confirmed that as of 17th
century, Islam had already spread to places like Igboho, Kishi, Saki, Iseyin, Ogbomosho, and
Oyo. Contrary to the impression that the spread of Islam must have been facilitated by the Jihad
of Uthman Dan Fodio. The people in the Yoruba land had contact with Islam before the
revolutionary activity of Dan Fodio. Scholars are of the opinion that Islam penetrated Oyo
through the activities of some traders and some scholars who migrated from Mali to old Oyo
empire during the reign of 'Mosakankamosa'. And in places like Iseyin, Islam was brought to the
region by a called Saliu Dindi who migrated from Dahomey and Iseyin, Islam came to the region
in about 1760 through one Mallam Aboki. As of 1830, Scholars accepted to have said that the
practice of Islam had penetrated Ibadan. The practice of Islam and its law during this period was
quite different from how it started in Northern Nigeria. Shariah was not a state law but a law of
individual which was practiced by Scholars in their mosques or by rulers in their places.

In the 18th century, the practice of Shariah was considered formidable in the city of Ede in
Osun state during the reign of Habeeb Olagunju. It is on record that at the tender age of Ten,
Habeeb Olagunju abandoned the worship of idol and move to Ilorin to learn about Islam. He
later moved to Sokoto, Kano and Katsina when he understood that the knowledge of Arabic is a
prerequisite for his understanding of Islam. When he returned back to Ede and mounted the
throne of his forefathers, he launched the practice of Shariah in both civil and criminal cases.
During this period which was before the Colonial invasion of Nigeria, Habeeb Olagunju was the
judge in a court that was located in his palace. He was firm and passionate about the practice of
Shariah and the application of capital punishment for criminal offences so much that his
biological child was found guilty of adultery and he ordered him to be stoned to death. It was for
the fear of his action that his people expelled him out of the town. It was reported that he was
expelled three times before finally being dethroned. A second period in the practice of Shariah in
Ede was during the reign/ period of Oba Timi Oyelekan. Oba Timi tried to resuscitate the dyeing
practice of Shariah in Ede but in a different way. Unlike Habeeb Olagunju who was the judge
with the court in his palace, Oba Timi Oyelekan appointed a judge and organize an area court for
the trial of criminals in accordance with the practice of Shariah. When the Colonial masters came
to Nigeria, they met the practice of Shariah in this region and initially they gave support to the
practice but later succeeded in abolishing the practice because the non-Muslims in the town were
not in support of the practice and so they cried out that the practice was repugnant to social
justice. In the town of Ikirun, Oba Oyewole was equally reported to have practiced Shariah in
both civil and criminal cases before the British colonialist. Cases of people being given one
hundred strike of a cain were documented in addition to the practice of marriage, divorce,
inheritance in line with the provision of Shariah. With the beginning of the forth republic and in
emulation of the practice in the north, Muslims in South made several agitations for the practice
of Shariah as a state legal system. In1999 precisely, there was a meeting of the Muslim students
in Southern Nigeria and some organizations where a request was made to the Oyo state
government for the adoption of Shariah for Muslims but they were denied. In Osun state, the
Muslims under the auspices/banners/umbrella of a council of the Imam and Chairmanship of
Imam Ajisafe Akilapa the chief Imam of Osogbo. A letter was written to the state House of
assembly in request for the application of Shariah but the request was not granted.

In the practice of Shariah in the North and in the South,

1. Islam penetrated the Northern states before the Southern states.

2. The Northern states share borders with Muslim dominated countries.

3. The culture of people in the North is close to Islamic culture.

4. The impact of the Jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio in the North.

5. Islam was embraced by rulers in the North and this made it spread wider and easier.

6. The missionary activities that spread in the South hinders the wide spread of Shariah in
the region.