Population
125 million
250 different
ethnic groups
Capital City
Abuja
Leadership
President
Olusegun Obasanjo
Religion
50% Muslim
40% Christian
10% animist
Nigerian
Ambassador
to the
U.S.
Ambassador Professor
Jibril Muhammad
Aminu
Embassy of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria
1333 16th Street, NW
Washington DC 20036
Phone: (202) 986-8400
Fax: (202) 775-1385
Web:
www.nigeria
embassyusa.org
BIO
In 1999 several northern Nigerian states began campaigning for the introduction of full Shar'ia
(Islamic) law. Today 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states have
either adopted a Shar'ia penal code or are in the
process of doing so. This has occurred in spite of the
fact that the Federal Constitution of Nigeria expressly
forbids the establishment of state religion, and the
creation of laws that are applicable solely to a par-
ticular gender, religion, tribe or regional grouping.
Shar'ia as practiced by northern states has created a
socio-political climate conducive to gender dis-
crimination of varying degrees of severity. At one end
of the spectrum, in some states women can no longer
travel in mixed-sex public transport and must dress
according to Islamic strictures. At the other, in cases
involving sexual offenses, women usually receive
severe sentences from Islamic courts, while the men
they were involved with tend to go unpunished.
the age of the person concerned and the severity of the punishment imposed. This involved Bariya
Ibrahim Maguzu, a Muslim teenager from Zamfara, who gave birth to a child after being forced by her
father to have sex with 3 men. Islamic law states that the testimony of a woman is inadequate in such
cases, and that such a charge can only be proved against a man if there are four male witnesses to
the event. The girl was sentenced to 180 lashes, 80 of which were added because she was deemed
to have 'falsely accused' the three men involved. The sentence was carried out despite the fact that
an appeal was pending. She was also obliged to marry one of several men who had later volun-
teered to become her husband.
There have since been two similar cases involving pregnant teenagers from Bauchi and Katsina
States respectively. The girl from Bauchi was unable to produce four witnesses and received 100
lashes. In the Katsina case, both the girl and the 24-year old man involved received 100 lashes.
However, the case that gained the most national and international attention was that of Safiya Hussaini
Tungar Tudu, a middle-aged divorcee from Sokoto State who was sentenced to death by stoning for
bearing a child out of wedlock.
Safiya contended that she had been raped, but charges against the alleged rapist were dropped
when he denied responsibility and the defendant was unable to produce the prerequisite four wit-
nesses to testify to his guilt. A Shar'ia appeal court in Sokoto State eventually acquitted Safiya on
March 19, 2002 following an international outcry.
"Amina Lawal"
The latest case to gain international attention involves Amina Lawal, a 30 year old from Kurami village
in Katsina State. Amina is a farmer's daughter and a mother of three who has been married twice
since the age of 14. Following her second divorce in the latter part of 2000 Amina embarked on a
relationship with a local man, Yahaya Mohammed, whom she says had promised to marry her if she
consented to a physical relationship. She subsequently gave birth out of wedlock to her third child, a
baby daughter named Wasila who was born in November 2001.
After the birth of Wasila, Amina was taken to a lower Shar'ia court in Bakori, Katsina on March 4, 2002
by her fellow villagers. According to the system of Shar'ia practiced in Katsina, a divorced woman is
guilty of adultery (Zina) even if the man she is involved with is unmarried, and the mere fact that
Amina had given birth satisfied the Shar'ia court judge of her guilt. Consequently on March 19, 2002,
Amina received the mandatory sentence of death by stoning.
For his part Yahaya Mohammed admitted knowing Amina, but denied having had a physical relation-
ship with her. Since Amina had no male witnesses to back up her assertions, Yahaya was acquitted
due to insufficient evidence after swearing to his innocence on the Qur’an.
Amina took her case to a Shar'ia appeal court in Funtua, Katsina, with the help of human rights
organizations. According to Musa Aliyu Yawuri, her current defense lawyer, Amina had no legal
representation at her initial trial. Moreover, her alleged offense was not explained to her in terms that
she could understand. The judges and the prosecution had used the term Zina, an Arabic word that
Amina, being a Hausa, did not fully comprehend. In a desperate effort to save her life the defense
further contended that Amina’s former husband had fathered the child, and that the fetus had lain
dormant for a two-year period. The defense was attempting to utilize a loophole found in certain ver-
sions of Shar'ia law that allows a divorced woman to bear her ex-husband's child within a period that
can extend to seven years subsequent to the divorce. ( In January 2002, 17-year-old Hafsatu
Abubakar from Sokoto was acquitted of adultery charges after using this very strategy.) Amina’s
defense team concluded by arguing that even if she had had a physical relationship with another man
subsequent to her divorce, this would have occurred prior to June 2001, the date that Katsina State
formally adopted the Shar'ia penal code.
Amina's appeal first came up on June 3, 2002. At that time the presiding judge adjourned the case but
also ruled that the sentence would be suspended for 18 months regardless of the outcome of the
appeal in order to give Amina time to wean her daughter. The case was adjourned until October
19th, at which time the Funtua Shar'ia Court upheld the initial sentence. There are now plans to
mount an appeal to an even higher Shar'ia Court, and, if that fails, to the Supreme Court of the Fed-
eral Republic of Nigeria. If all of these appeals fail, then Amina may face execution at any time after
December 2003.
What Can I Do?