Pro-Sharia Bill Aimed At Protecting Christians From Wanton Attacks By Muslims

Abdullahi-SalameThe member representing Gwadabawa/Illela federal constituency of Sokoto State in the House of Representatives, Abdullahi Salame, has denied speculations that his controversial pro-Sharia Bill is aimed at expanding the jurisdiction of the Islamic legal code to cover the entire country.
Salame, an All Progressives Congress, APC, lawmaker explained that the Bill, which ‘secretly’ passed second reading, is a constitutional amendment proposal actually aimed at protecting Christians from unprovoked attacks in the northern part of the country.
The North, highly volatile and prone to outbreak of religious crises, is home to majority of Nigerian Muslims with Sharia law practiced in most of the 19 northern states.

The lawmaker received public backlash on Wednesday after Nigerians learn that “A bill for an Act to alter Sections 262 and 277 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to increase the jurisdiction of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory and Sharia Court of Appeal of a State by including Criminal Matters and Hudud and Qisas and for other related Matters” scaled the second reading in the lower legislative chamber.
The development came as a rude shock as the introduction of the controversial bill for first reading on the floor of the House, was not reported in the media.
The public condemnation that trailed the pro-Sharia bill and Mr. Salame was not unexpected as Nigeria is a secular state roughly divided between Christians and Muslims.
Already, some Christian groups have issued strongly-worded statements reprimanding non-Muslim lawmakers for allowing the legislation to pass first and second reading without as a much as a challenge.
Making clarifications on his legislation, Reps Salame said the bill only seeks to alter the Constitution to give Sharia Court of Appeal the jurisdiction to hear criminal matters in Sharia-compliant states.
According to him, the two sections that deal with the court currently permit the Sharia Court of Appeal the jurisdiction to try civil matters only, saying the only way to strengthen the court for its purpose is if it is given the constitutional backing to try both civil and criminal matters.
“I just want them to add only two words ‘and criminal’ to Sections 262 and 272 so that after the ‘civil’ there will be followed with ‘and criminal’ matters”, Mr. Salame explained yesterday.
He said the proposed legislation only seeks to strengthen the powers of the Sharia Court of Appeal in places where Sharia legal code currently exists.
“We’re not trying to expand the Sharia as other people perceive it that we’re trying to take Sharia to other states that have not adopted Sharia like Enugu or Abuja”, Mr. Salami said. “No, we’re not saying that we should expand Sharia. We’re talking about the jurisdiction of the existing Sharia court”.
If passed into law, the All Progressives Congress lawmaker said his amendment will deter Muslims from continuing with their current behaviour of “killing Christians and other non-Muslims” at the slightest provocation in the North.
“When there’s little argument it will become ethnic and religious crisis. Many non-Muslims are being unjustly killed. People are doing injustice to non-Muslims by attacking non-Muslims just because they’re not Muslims”, Mr. Salame said.
“With the passage of this bill, no Muslim will ever attempt even to harm, much less, kill non-Muslims, because you know Sharia can attend to criminal cases and you will be dealt with. And, in Islam, when you kill a non-Muslim, you will be killed. These Boko Haram and other groups that hide behind any little crisis to attack Christians and other non-Muslims would be easily punished”.
He further said the bill conforms to his party’s “Change” agenda because it will help improve security, which is one of the manifestoes of the APC.
“One of the objectives of the APC government is to ensure peace and security in the country. This bill, when passed, will certainly improve security and a peaceful co-existence between Muslim and non-Muslims in the states that practice Sharia”, he said.
Salame, therefore, urged Nigerians to “put aside their ethnic and religious affiliations” and support the bill, adding that his colleagues in the House, especially those from Sharia-compliant states, are in support of it.