South-West govs lack power to stop Shariah panels —Kwara Grand Qadi

The Grand Qadi of the Kwara State Shari’ah Court of Appeal, Justice Abdurraheem Sayi, has thrown his weight behind the establishment of Shari’ah Arbitration Panels in the South-West, saying the state governors lack the power to stop the panels.

Justice Sayi who waded into the controversy that has been generated by the proposal to set up the panels in the region, stated that approval of state governments or traditional rulers is not needed for Muslims to establish and operate Shari’ah arbitration panels in the South-West.

The Qadi who made the assertion while delivering a lecture on “Shari’ah in South-West Nigeria” at the University of Lagos Muslim Alumni 30th Pre-Ramadan Lecture, on Sunday, said objections to Shari’ah arbitration panels in the South-West was legally baseless and an embarrassment to legal minds as well as a mere expression of Islamophobia syndrome that had been deliberately ignored by the affected states.

According to Justice Sayi, arbitration is a contractual matter that does not require government approval and as such, the Shari’ah panels do not need government approval to be established.

“Nobody needs the approval of the Federal Government to operate it. As powerful as the President is, his authority does not extend to approving the Constitution of an arbitration panel. It is purely contractual,” he said.

“We don’t need the approval of any state authority, let alone a monarch. Associations, including political parties, can establish small committees to resolve disputes involving their members.

“All the Muslim panels that I know of always hold their sittings inside mosques. What business do pastors or monarchs have in this matter? Somebody should tell the monarchs to know their boundaries.

“There have been multiple instances where High Court judges informed litigants that they were helpless and, as a result, referred cases to the Independent Shari’ah panel.

“The Shari’ah panels are not substitutes for courts but function by contract, where attendance is voluntary; however, once a person participates in the proceedings, the decision becomes binding.

“There is no single provision for Muslims in the family laws of the South-West. It’s as if we are second-class citizens or do not belong to these states.

“There is no single court in the region competent to dissolve an Islamic marriage or handle child custody cases following Islamic law. Shari’ah is a fundamental right of Muslims,” he added.

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