1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Nigeria
  • News

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.

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

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join