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Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji
The Ekiti State Government said on Thursday that the existing legal structure in the state did not recognise Sharia Court or Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel.
The state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Dayo Apata, made this known in a statement made available in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
He stated this in reaction to news reports of the first public sitting of the Ekiti State Shari’ah Panel, which resolved two marriage disputes last week.
The Ekiti State Sharia Panel had said its aim was to provide arbitration based on Islamic jurisprudence.
Apata said there is an existing legal structure in the state that has been handling issues relating to Islamic, Christian and traditional marriages and inheritance without any rancour.
He said, “There is an existing legal structure in Ekiti State (i.e. Customary Court, Customary Court of Appeal and High Court) that has been handling issues relating to Islamic, Christian and traditional marriages and inheritance without any rancour or agitation.”
He cautioned against activities that could negatively affect the state government’s policy of peaceful coexistence among residents, saying, “Government will not compromise on any action that may hinder the prevailing peace and fester hostility in the state.”
The AG said that the Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel is not in the judicial structure of the state, noting that “arbitration and/or mediation issue is a quasi-judicial matter which is regulated by law” in the state.
Apata said, “The Sharia Courts in the North are equivalent to the Customary Courts in the Southern part of Nigeria. Wherein appeals from Sharia Courts in the North go to Sharia Court of Appeal, the state similarly has Customary Court of Appeal that hears appeals from the Customary Courts.”
The AG said that the state’s High Courts and all other Courts also had arbitration and mediation mechanisms.
He said, “Customary Courts and the Customary Court of Appeal can effectively take care of any customary issues arising from Yoruba traditional marriages, Islamic marriages and Christian marriages, especially the ones that were not backed-up by the statutory marriages which can only be dissolved by the states High Courts throughout Nigeria.”
According to him, the government is not unmindful of the fact the race for the 2026 governorship election is gathering momentum in Ekiti State and opposition members who cannot fault the performance of the state government have resorted to all sorts of unethical practices.
The AG advised religious leaders to “be wary of being used as tools by politicians and fifth columnists because the government will not hesitate to invoke the full weight of the law to protect the constitution of the federation and maintain peaceful co-existence in the state.”
