Yoruba group replies Sultan, opposes Sharia panels in S’West

The Society for Yoruba Culture Renaissance has rejected the establishment of Sharia panels in Oyo, Ekiti and other Southwestern states. The Sultan of Sokoto-led Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), a few days ago, had thrown its weight behind the push to establish Sharia courts in South-West states.

However, the group argued that Sharia law was alien to Yoruba society, and had the potential to disrupt peaceful coexistence among people of different religious beliefs.

In a statement yesterday, the body countered the NSCIA’s argument that the Sharia panel initiative was legal and provided for in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The group maintained that Sharia law was an Arabic cultural practice suitable for societies with a dominant Muslim population, as opposed to the current composition of Yorubaland. It accused the Sultan of attempting to incite a religious crisis in southwestern Nigeria by advocating for the implementation of Sharia law in the region.