– On this day in 2000, Zamfara state became the first state to enact the Shari’a Penal Code in Northern Nigeria…
The governor at the time, Ahmed Sani, was the first to introduce Shari’a for criminal law. This happened within a year of the 1999 elections which brought President Olusegun Obasanjo and new state governors to power.
The Shari’a Establishment Law was introduced in Zamfara State on October 27, 1999, and came into force on January 27, 2000. The introduction of Shari’a in Zamfara State attracted a huge amount of attention, and Ahmed Sani became the self-appointed champion of Shari’a in Nigeria.
– Also on this day in 2009, Governor of Yobe State, Senator Mamman Bello Ali, died of leukaemia in a USA hospital and was eventually succeeded by his deputy, Mallam Ibrahim Gaidam, who was sworn in within 12 hours.
