11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

State governors decide on implementation of amputation or death sentences of sharia courts ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22782]

"Statutory law mandates that state governors either impose a stay or implement amputation or death sentences. Sentences under Shari'a often were not carried out because of the lengthy process for appeals. Because no applicable case had been appealed to the federal level, federal appellate courts had yet to decide whether such punishments violate the constitution. Stoning and amputation sentences were previously overturned on procedural or evidentiary grounds but had not been challenged on constitutional grounds."

Document(s): Open document

31.01.2008 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Many trials in Sharia courts fail to conform to international standards and do not respect due process ("World Report 2008") [ID 22265]

"Many trials in Sharia courts fail to conform to international standards and do not respect due process even as defined by Sharia legislation: defendants rarely have access to a lawyer, are not informed about their rights, and judges are often poorly trained."

Document(s): Open document

31.01.2008 - Source: Human Rights Watch

The manner in which Sharia is applied discriminates against women, particularly in adultery cases ("World Report 2008") [ID 22266]

"The manner in which Sharia is applied discriminates against women, particularly in adultery cases where standards of evidence differ based on the sex of the accused."

Document(s): Open document

31.01.2008 - Source: Human Rights Watch

State governments in northern Nigeria have continued to enforce oppressive Sharia laws targeting gay and lesbian Nigerians; the federal government has backed repressive anti-gay legislation ("World Report 2008") [ID 22267]

"State governments in northern Nigeria have continued to enforce oppressive Sharia laws targeting gay and lesbian Nigerians. In August, 18 men were arrested under suspicion of participating in a “gay wedding” ceremony in Bauchi state. The federal government has abandoned its obligation to combat such discriminatory laws, and backed repressive anti-gay legislation of its own in early 2007, though this has not been passed."

Document(s): Open document

06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

There were no reports of persons being sentenced for fornication or adultery ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19732]

"Unlike in the previous year, no Shari'a death sentences generated controversy, and there were no reports of persons being sentenced under Shari'a law for fornication or adultery, regardless of their religious affiliation."

Document(s): Open document

01.2007 - Source: Human Rights Watch

In many Sharia trials defendants have no access to a lawyer, are not informed about their rights and judges are poorly trained ("World Report 2007") [ID 18981]

"Many trials in Sharia courts fail to conform to international standards and do not respect due process even as defined by Sharia legislation: defendants rarely have access to a lawyer, are not informed about their rights, and judges are often poorly trained. The manner in which Sharia is applied discriminates against women, particularly in adultery cases where standards of evidence differ based on the sex of the accused."

Document(s): Open document

15.09.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Indigent persons convicted of Sharia offences claimed they had not known they were entitled to legal representation ("International Religious Freedom Report 2006") [ID 17803]

"Human rights groups reported that many indigent persons convicted of Shari'a offenses claimed they had not known they were entitled to legal representation."

Document(s): Open document

09.2006 - Source: Freedom House

According to human rights groups Sharia courts fail to respect due process rights ("Freedom in the World 2006") [ID 18264]

"In the 12 northern states where Sharia law is in effect, human rights groups say Islamic courts fail to respect due process rights, which leads to harsh and discriminatory sentences."

Document(s): Open document

23.05.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Retrial before Upper Sharia Court in Kobi ordered for Umar Tori, sentenced to death for zina ("Annual Report 2006") [ID 17515]

"On 24 May the Bauchi State Sharia Court of Appeal upheld an appeal filed by Umar Tori after he was sentenced to death by stoning for zina, and ordered his retrial before the Upper Sharia Court in Kobi. He had been convicted by the Upper Sharia Court in Alkalere on 29 December 2004."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Court overturned amputation sentences against 6 Zaria men ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 15827]

"On May 26, a Shari'a appeals court in Kaduna overturned amputation sentences that had been passed in 2003 against six Zaria men who had been accused of stealing a cow and a motorcycle. The appeals court ruled that the lower court had erred in convicting the men solely on the basis of police testimony, without allowing the men to defend themselves. The men also had not had access to legal representation, as required by the Kaduna State Shari'a code."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Government instituted panel of legal scholars in 2003 to draft a uniform Shari'a criminal statute to replace divergent Shari'a statutes adopted by various Northern states ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17084]

"In both common law and Shari'a courts, indigent persons without legal representation were more likely to have their sentences carried out immediately upon being sentenced, although all accused persons have the right to appeal. The government instituted a panel of legal scholars in 2003 to draft a uniform Shari'a criminal statute to replace divergent Shari'a statutes adopted by various northern states; however, the panel did not produce its report during the year, and states continued to apply their individual codes. There were no legal provisions barring women or other groups from testifying in civil court or giving their testimony less weight, but the testimony of women and non-Muslims usually was accorded less weight in Shari'a courts. In violation of mainstream Shari'a jurisprudence, some Kadis (Muslim judges) subjected women to harsh sentences for fornication or adultery based solely upon the fact of pregnancy, while men were not convicted without eyewitnesses unless they confessed (see section 1.c.)."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Bauchi State: Nigeria Legal Aid Council appeals 30 Shari'a convictions and death sentences ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46036],  [ID 17280]

"The Nigeria Legal Aid Council agreed to appeal 30 Shari'a convictions and death sentences in Bauchi State. In one case, an 18-year-old man, Saleh Dabo, alleged that police told him he could plead guilty to rape, and he would be released; instead, a court sentenced him to death by stoning for adultery, even though he is not married. The appeal had not yet been heard."

Document(s): Open document

08.11.2005 - Source: US Department of State

2 women were released from the Shari'a appeals court after the court overturned their convictions ("International Religious Freedom Report 2005") [#38877],  [ID 14714]

"In September 2004, in Bauchi State, Daso Adamu, a nursing mother, was sentenced to death by stoning when she initially admitted to having sex with her first husband after her second husband absconded. The man was freed for lack of evidence. In October, she was released on bail on the grounds that she was breastfeeding. In December, a Shari'a appeals court vacated the conviction and sentence, ruling that her pregnancy was insufficient evidence to convict her.

In October 2004, in Bauchi State, Hajara Ibrahim was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery after becoming pregnant outside of wedlock. According to the Shari'a court that convicted her, she confessed to having sex with a man who had promised to marry her. The man denied meeting her and was released for lack of evidence. The defendant appealed the sentence, stating that she should have been charged with the lesser crime of fornication, rather than adultery. In November, a Shari'a appeals court overturned the conviction and sentence, ruling that she had never consummated an arranged marriage, and therefore should never have been charged with adultery."

Document(s): Open document

07.10.2005 - Source: UN Human Rights Council (formerly UN Commission on Human Rights)

Implementation of Sharia and religious minorities ("Report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Asma Jahangir; Mission to Nigeria [E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.2]") [#43285],  [ID 14715]

"The speed with which the sharia penal codes were adopted has led to many difficulties and concerns regarding their practical implementation. Judges, it was contended, had not been sufficiently trained, a concern because, at the first level of sharia courts, judges do not have to be
lawyers. In some cases, following the adoption of these new codes, rules of evidence and procedure had either been disregarded or not correctly followed; defendants had been deprived of legal representation and convictions were arrived at in haste; some defendants did not
understand what they were being tried for or the implications of their trials. In this respect, a lack of understanding of the operation of the Nigerian sharia penal codes as well as a lack of awareness about the rights and obligations under Islamic law in general, in particular concerning women or vulnerable groups, is a real source of concern.

A particularly alarming development in the implementation of sharia has been the institutionalization of enforcement bodies known as Hisbah, composed of young, untrained Muslim civilians, whose role is to enforce the principles of Islam. Their activities have resulted in a number of violent, arbitrary and other illegal acts, especially against non-Muslim women, which in many cases amounted to human rights violations."

Document(s): Open document

25.09.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Court procedure in Amina Lawal case opposed ("Appeal court saves woman from stoning to death") [#16237],  [ID 14716]

""An Islamic appeal court in Nigeria saved a single mother from being stoned to death on Thursday when it overturned her conviction for adultery.

The court in Katsina State in northern Nigeria, acquitted 32-year-old Amina Lawal, who was sentenced to death by a lower Islamic court last year for having a baby 10 months after she was divorced.

Lawal was sentenced to death by a lower court under the strict Islamic Shariah (Law) in March 2002 after she had a baby out of wedlock. That court ruled that she should be stoned to death after she had weaned her 20 month old baby.

The man who she accused of making her pregnant was acquitted after he swore by the Koran that he was not responsible. In August 2002, an upper Shariah court confirmed the sentence. Lawal, through her lawyers, then appealed to Katsina state's highest Islamic court.""

Document(s): Open document

28.05.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

international standards for fair trial, such as the right to legal representation, were not observed ("Annual Report 2003") [#13067],  [ID 14717]

"Most of those convicted under the new penal legislation were from economically deprived backgrounds. In the majority of cases, international standards for fair trial, such as the right to legal representation, were not observed. Floggings and amputations were repeatedly carried out in towns and villages within hours of sentencing."

Document(s): Open document
Open document

08.10.2002 - Source: BBC News

Couple sentenced to death by stoning for adultery ("No respite for Nigeria stoning couple") [#8873],  [ID 14718]

Document(s): Open document

07.10.2002 - Source: US Department of State

Sharia courts and institutions of appeal; constitutionality of Sharia punishments might be challenged ("International Religious Freedom Report 2002") [#8895],  [ID 14719]

"The Constitution also provides that the Federal Government is to establish a Federal Shari'a Court of Appeal and Final Court of Appeal; however, the Government had not yet established such courts by the end of the period covered by this report. Federal appeals dealing with Islamic law were heard by appellant jurists trained in Islamic law. [...] Defendants have the right to challenge the constitutionality of Shari'a criminal statutes through the courts; however, no challenges with adequate legal standing had made their way through the appellate system by the end of the period covered by this report."

Document(s): Open document

03.09.2002 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Jigawa state: Late appeal against death by stoning penalty [ID 14720]

"Family members of a man sentenced to death by stoning after a rape conviction in the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa have initiated a late appeal to stop his execution.
Mohammed Ado Baranda was sentenced to death under Shari'ah or Islamic law in May after he was convicted of raping a nine-year-old girl. He failed to challenge the sentence by the time the 30-day mandatory appeal period passed.
Haruna Hashim of the Shari’ah Court of Appeal in the Jigawa State capital, Dutse, told reporters that relatives of 54-year-old Baranda had filed an appeal on Friday, in which it was claimed he suffered from mental illness. The case was being reconsidered, Hashim added."

Document(s): Open document

29.08.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Lack of due process observed in Sharia trials in several northern states ("Nigeria: Man Faces Sharia Stoning Death") [#8451],  [ID 14721]

"Previous trials in Sharia courts in several northern states of Nigeria have been characterized by an absence of due process. Defendants do not always have legal representation; they are often ill-informed about procedures and about their rights. Judges and other court officials frequently lack legal training."

Document(s): Open document

26.08.2002 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Administration of juvenile justice under Sharia [ID 14722]

"The recent introduction of Islamic or Shari'ah law in parts of northern Nigeria has created new deficiencies in the administration of juvenile justice. Under Shari'ah, the age of criminal responsibility is taken to be either 18 years or puberty. In cases involving fornication or adultery, which may attract flogging or the death penalty respectively, the age of responsibility is set at 15. The implication is that, in cases where children reach puberty earlier than 18 years, no distinction is made between them and adults in dispensing Shari'ah punishments.
In January 2001, a young girl, Bariya Ibrahim Magazu, whose age was variously put at between 13 and 17 years, was subjected to 100 strokes of the cane in public in Zamfara State, after she gave birth to a child without being married."

Document(s): Open document

10.06.2002 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

Detailed background information on Sharia ("Nordnigeria, Update Mai 2002 ") [#8103],  [ID 14723]

Document(s): Open document

16.01.2002 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Sharia punishments carried out, sometimes immediately after the sentence was handed down by the court, apparently disregarding the right to appeal ("World report 2002") [#5281],  [ID 14724]

"Sharia criminal courts handed down judgments in several northern states; until 1999, they had operated only for personal status law. Punishments amounting to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment included floggings and amputations, for offenses ranging from extra-marital sex to consumption or sale of alcohol, or theft. Floggings were carried out in public, sometimes immediately after the sentence was handed down by the court, apparently disregarding the right to appeal. The victims included minors, such as a seventeen-year-old mother convicted for pre-marital sex who was flogged in Zamfara state in January, less than a month after giving birth. In June, a court in Kebbi state ordered that a fifteen-year-old boy's hand be amputated after he was found guilty of theft; it was not known whether the sentence was carried out. At least two people were sentenced to death by stoning, including a pregnant woman in Sokoto; by November these death sentences had not been carried out. While government officials repeatedly stated that Sharia law only applied to Muslims, it inevitably had consequences for Christians living in the northern states. On several occasions, civilian groups attacked establishments owned by Christians and destroyed consignments of alcohol. Rules such as those that forbid women from traveling with men in public vehicles were applied to Christians as well as Muslims. In January, a group claiming to enforce Sharia flogged a Christian man for selling alcohol."

Document(s): Open document

09.2001 - Source: European Commission

Ruud Peters: Study of Sharia Penal Codes (includes comparison of provisions of state penal codes) ("The Reintroduction of Islamic Criminal Law in Northern Nigeria. A Study Conducted on Behalf of the European Commission") [#10686],  [ID 14725]

Document(s): Open document