In Nigeria, Sharia has been instituted as a main body of civil and criminal law in twelve Muslim-majority states since 1999, when then-Zamfara State governor Ahmad Sani Yerima began the push for the institution of Sharia at the state level of government.
States
Twelve out of Nigeria's thirty-six states have Islam as the dominant religion. In 1999, those states chose to have Sharia courts as well as Customary courts. As of 2012, the following 12 states have instituted Sharia:
In 2002, the first execution of a man convicted under Sharia laws took place in Katsina State. The man was hanged after pleading guilty to murdering a woman and her two children
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is a criminal offence in both the civil and shari'a law. The two most common religions Islam and Christianity as well as the traditions of the people forbade homosexuality. In 2014, homosexual men were targeted by Hisbah, the religious police. In Nigeria, federal law criminalizes homosexual behaviour, but states with Sharia law impose more stiffer punishments.
Recognized as a federalcourt of appeals under the government of Nigeria, the Sharia Court of Appeals is the most controversial of the judicial system. It exists within the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria and is a part of the Unified Courts System. The Sharia Court of Appeals reviews cases involving Sharia law, particularly in the North and Northeast regions of the country. This has caused controversy because while the Sharia Court of Appeals interprets and reviews cases relating to Islamic law, they must also interpret the common and customary laws of the other regions of Nigeria.
Sharia used to be categorized as a customary law in Nigeria. This position has changed given the judicial pronouncement in the case of Alkamawa V Bello LPELR-SC.293/1991 Hence, Sharia is now seen as a distinct and universal legal system.
Riots
There have been numerous riots over the implementation of Sharia, primarily involving non-Muslim minorities in the states which implemented the system. One such riot led to the death over 100 people in October 2001 in Kano State.
Amina Lawal
In 2002, negative light was brought to Sharia in northern Nigeria when Amina Lawal, a single mother in Katsina State, was accused of adultery and sentenced to death by stoning by a state Sharia court for conceiving a childout of wedlock; the father was released without conviction for lack of evidence. Lawal's conviction provoked outrage both in southern Nigeria and the West, with many national and international NGOs lobbying the federal government to overturn her conviction. In 2004, the conviction was overturned by the Sharia court of appeal, and Lawal returned to private life.
