By Fatima Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has called on president Bola Tinubu to include Shariah experts among judges to be recruited.
MURIC’s appeal followed an announcement by the federal government to review the judiciary and fill vacancies in the Supreme Court.
Professor Ishaq Akintola, the Executive Director of MURIC stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
“We therefore appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to save the Shariah Court of Appeal from being totally exterminated from the Nigerian judicial system. In doing this, we advise Mr. President to consult the chairman of the Shariah Court of Appeal who is the only remaining Shariah expert in the court to set the machinery in motion for the appointment of more Shariah lawyers. It should be noted that Shariah judges are specialists in that particular field and only Shariah experts can identify and recruit them.
“It will be recalled that the introduction of Shariah in Nigeria generated tumultuous controversy ab initio. The anti-Shariah camp did not relent even after the establishment of Shariah and the deliberate recruitment of conventional lawyers who are just Muslims but who know nothing about Shariah is part of the grand plot to destroy the Shariah Court of Appeal.
“We remind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Nigerian Muslims had this in mind when they voted massively for a Muslim-Muslim ticket. The restoration and rejuvenation of the Shariah Court of Appeal through the recruitment of more Shariah experts as judges to fill the yawning gap will be a huge take-away for Nigerian Muslims from the Tinubu administration. This is how dividends of democracy are measured.”
The statement commended President Tinubu for taking this bold step to improve the welfare of judges and review the judiciary in general.
“No nation can wipe out corruption if judges wallow in poverty and if the working condition of the judiciary is unattractive.
“Court infrastructure, comfortable courtrooms, adequate security for judges at home and at work and seamless promotion opportunities are sine qua non for the emergence of global best practices in the Nigerian judiciary.”
The statement also restated its demand for the reviving of the near-moribund Shariah wing of the Nigerian judiciary.
According to the statement, the Supreme Court was yet to fill in the vacancy left by its only Shariah expert, Justice Muhammad Tanko since his retirement.
“The former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammad Tanko was the only Shariah expert in the whole Supreme Court and that lacuna has not been filled since he retired. It is also sad that none of the 20 judges recently recruited into the Court of Appeal is a Shariah specialist. Yet there are several Shariah lawyers willing to come on board but they have been ignored.
“MURIC frowns at this indifference of the authorities to the legal and religious yearning of more than 130 million Muslims across Nigeria. Our fear is that a deliberate attempt is being made to eliminate the Shariah Court of Appeal the same way that the Customary Court of Appeal was exterminated. This will negate the letter and spirit of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in which several sections expressly assert the constitutionality of the Shariah Court of Appeal.
“Exempli gratia, Section 260(1) says, ‘There shall be a Shariah Court of Appeal at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Section 260(2) describes the composition of the Shariah Court of Appeal. It explains that it shall be headed by the Grand Kadi of the FCT assisted by other kadis who shall be members.
“Also, Section 261(1) gives the president the power to appoint the Grand Kadi on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation by Senate while Section 261(3)(a)(b)(i) and (ii) itemise the qualifications that the Grand Kadi must possess.
“Although Section 244 says that appeals from state Shariah Courts of Appeal will go to the federal Shariah Court of Appeal wing of the Supreme Court, cases from states like Kano, Jigawa, Niger, Kebbi, Sokoto, etc continue to pile up on Abuja due to the absence of a properly constituted Shariah Court of Appeal at the federal level.
“We therefore appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to save the Shariah Court of Appeal from being totally exterminated from the Nigerian judicial system. In doing this, we advise Mr. President to consult the chairman of the Shariah Court of Appeal who is the only remaining Shariah expert in the court to set the machinery in motion for the appointment of more Shariah lawyers. It should be noted that Shariah judges are specialists in that particular field and only Shariah experts can identify and recruit them.
“We remind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Nigerian Muslims had this in mind when they voted massively for a Muslim-Muslim ticket. The restoration and rejuvenation of the Shariah Court of Appeal through the recruitment of more Shariah experts as judges to fill the yawning gap will be a huge take-away for Nigerian Muslims from the Tinubu administration. This is how dividends of democracy are measured.”
