Islamic body plans to open southern Nigeria's first ever sharia court in Oyo State come January

OYO State is poised to get a sharia court next year after the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria announced that it will be opening such a facility in January in the ancient city of Oyo making it the first in the south of Nigeria.

At the moment, 12 of Nigeria's 19 northern states practise the strict Islamic sharia code and have courts that execute judgement in this regard. However, to effect this, their state houses of assemblies had to pass by-laws, making sharia legal but could do so because the majority of the population backed such moves.

Across southern Nigeria, however, Muslins refused to join the sharia bandwagon, accepting that it was divisive. This could now change, however, as the Oyo State chapter of the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria has invited guests from across the country to the court’s inauguration ceremony to be held on January 11, 2025, at the Muslim Community Islamic Centre, on Oba Adeyemi High School Road, Oyo.

A flier announcing the event listed the Bashorun of Oyoland, High Chief Yusuf Akinade Olayinka as the royal father of the day. it also named the Mufairu of Oyoland, Alhaji Abdullateef Eleyele as the spiritual father of the day and the Aare Musulumi of Oyooland, Alhaji Tajudeen Kamorise as the chief host.

However, the ceremony has been greeted by disapproval from some local people, with many arguing that southwest Nigeria, populated by Yoruba people, is not like the north of the country where Muslims are more dominant. Many bloggers have taken to social media to warm Oyo Muslims against treading this path.

One blogger said: “You can be randomly arrested and imprisoned for indecent dressing, even if you are not a Muslim, even if you are a Christian, a traditionalist, or an atheist. Also, during Ramadan, you can be arrested for selling food, even if you are not a Muslim as long as they can claim you were selling it to Muslims.

Another added: “If you’re silent on this sharia law saga in southwest, then you’re enabling it. Even if we can’t see the implications of the laws in other nations, we can see it in the north. The question is what progress does it bring?

"And those that claim it will be for Muslims only don’t forget that was how they started in the north and Hisbah can arrest anyone now. We reject Sharia law in its entirety. No to sharia law in Yorubaland.”