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Northern states divided over Sharia

    ABIDJAN

    Some northern states of Nigeria have have indicated that they will go ahead with plans to implement Sharia law despite a federal government announcement earlier this week to suspend it, news organisations reported on Thursday.

    The governors of Zamfara, Kebbi, and Sokoto states have agreed to ignore the decision by the federal government, AFP quoted a senior official in the local government of Gusau, Zamfara State, as saying on Thursday. Kebbi State government is also reported to hold a similar view, the BBC said.

    The National Council of State (NCS) decided on Tuesday at a meeting in Abuja that the implementation of the Sharia law in the northern states should be suspended. At a news conference after the meeting Nigerian Vice-President Atiku Abubakar said that the decision was taken in the best interest of national security.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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