The Ekiti state government has denied the existence of either the Sharia Court or the proposed Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel in the state.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti Thursday, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata (SAN), said the Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel is not in the judicial structure of the state, adding that “Arbitration and/or Mediation issue is a Quasi-Judicial matters which are regulated by Law” in the state.
The Independent Shari’ah Arbitration Panel in Ekiti state held its inaugural public sitting in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital last week, adjudicating on two marriage-related disputes.
The panel, presided over by three Kadhis, Imam Abdullahi Abdul-Mutolib, Imam Abdulraheem Junaid-Bamigbola, and Dr. Ibrahim Aminullahi-Ogunrinde is aimed at providing arbitration based on Islamic jurisprudence.
Apata said there is 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 said: “The Sharia Courts in the north are equivalent to the Customary Courts in the Southern part of Nigeria wherein the appeals therefrom also goes to the Sharia Court of Appeal. The state similarly has Customary Courts that hear customary cases as well as the Customary Court of Appeal that hears appeals from the Customary Courts.”
Noting that the state’s High Courts and all other courts also have arbitration and mediation mechanism, Apata stated that 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.