Sharia Court Bill: Leo Ogor Speaks - "Nobody Is Expanding Sharia To Anywhere"

Do not panic over Sharia court bill –Reps

The House of Representatives doused tension on Friday after a bill to expand the

jurisdiction of the Sharia Court of Appeal ignited fears that

lawmakers were about

to expand Sharia Law to cover the entire country.

The constitution amendment bill, which was sponsored by a member from Sokoto

State, Mr. Abdullahi Salame, had passed second reading on the floor of

the House.

The Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, who presided over the session, had allowed the

bill to scale second reading without debate on the grounds of its "sensitive"

nature.

The House had also noted that since it was a constitution amendment bill, it

should be referred to the Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review where it

would be adequately discussed.

However, the passage of the bill raised fears after the term "jurisdiction" was

reportedly misconstrued for expanding Sharia Law to states other than where it

currently applies.

In his proposal, Salame sought to amend sections 262 and 277 of the 1999

Constitution to add "criminal" to the existing provisions.

Explaining the purpose of the bill, the Minority Leader of the House,

Mr. Leo Ogor,

a Christian, allayed fears that it was about expanding Sharia Law to

other states.

Rather, he explained that bill merely sought to increase the existing

powers of the

court to include criminal cases.

Ogor said, "The 'jurisdiction' of the court referred to in sections

262 and 277 of the

constitution means the powers of the court in states where it already

exists, not

expanding Sharia to other parts of the country, no.

"The amendment sought to these sections is to add 'criminal' to the existing

jurisdiction it has on 'civil litigation.' That is the jurisdiction

that is being

expanded, not the expansion of Sharia Law itself."

On why the bill was not debated, Ogor said, "The matter was not debated because

the amendment is a constitutional amendment on a matter that could be better

handled by the constitution review committee.

"Debating it on the floor will not resolve it since the Ad Hoc Committee on

Constitution Review will still conduct a public hearing on it.

"Those concerned will be invited to come and give their opinions on

how the added

powers of the court will affect them and so on.

"Nobody is expanding Sharia to anywhere. Members of the public should not panic

over this at all."