Second northern state imposes Islamic law

Niger State in northern Nigeria has adopted the Sharia (Islamic law), news organisations reported its governor, Abdulkadir Kure, as saying. ‘The Guardian’ newspaper in Lagos said Kure announced on radio and television that he was introducing Sharia because he believed Nigeria, being a pluralistic society, had opted for a multiple legal system made up of common, Islamic and customary law. “Expanding the scope of Sharia law is to ensure that the approach achieves a significant improvement in the spiritual and economic life of our people,” ‘The Guardian’ quoted him as saying. However, the chairman of the Niger State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Bishop Jonah Kolo, charged that the introduction of the Sharia was meant to intimidate, oppress and marginalise Christians in the northern state, the daily reported.