“Decline In Sharia-Learned Justices Is Delaying Appeals” — MULAN Urges Court Of Appeal, Supreme Court To Address Panel Shortage

The Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria has raised concern over what it described as a decline in the number of justices with specialised knowledge of Islamic personal law available to hear Sharia-related appeals at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

The association said the situation was slowing down the hearing and determination of appeals arising from Sharia matters and called on the leadership of the appellate courts to ensure that enough qualified justices are available to constitute panels for such cases.

MULAN stated its position in a communiqué issued at the end of its National Executive Committee meeting held in Lafia, Nasarawa State. The communiqué was signed by the association’s President, Alhaji Hassan Taiwo Fajimite, and Secretary-General, Aminu Umar Kalgo.

According to the association, the reduction in the number of Muslim justices adequately learned in Sharia law has made it more difficult to constitute panels to hear appeals involving Islamic personal law, thereby contributing to delays for litigants whose cases reach the higher courts.

MULAN urged the leadership of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to pay closer attention to the composition of panels handling such appeals, arguing that Muslims whose cases involve Sharia questions should have their disputes heard by justices possessing the required knowledge and qualification in Islamic law.

The concern comes against the backdrop of constitutional provisions dealing with Islamic personal law expertise in Nigeria’s appellate judiciary.

Section 237(2) of the 1999 Constitution provides that the Court of Appeal must include not fewer than three justices learned in Islamic personal law, alongside not fewer than three justices learned in customary law.

The Constitution also goes beyond the numerical requirement at the Court of Appeal. Section 288 directs that, when appointments are being made to both the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, regard should be given to the need to have among the justices persons learned in Islamic personal law as well as customary law.

For Supreme Court appointments, a person is regarded for this purpose as learned in Islamic personal law if the person has been qualified as a legal practitioner for at least 15 years and possesses a recognised qualification in Islamic law acceptable to the National Judicial Council. For the Court of Appeal, the corresponding legal-practice requirement is at least 12 years.

MULAN’s complaint, however, is not merely about the number written into the Constitution. Its concern is the practical ability of the courts to regularly constitute panels with the expertise necessary to deal with appeals arising from Islamic personal law.

Such cases may involve questions touching on matters including marriage, family relations, inheritance, gifts, wills and succession where Islamic personal law is applicable.

The courts have over the years also drawn boundaries around the jurisdiction of Sharia courts, holding that not every dispute involving Muslims automatically becomes a Sharia matter. In earlier appellate decisions, the courts have stressed that the relevant question must fall within the areas of Islamic personal law recognised by the Constitution before the specialised jurisdiction is engaged.

Against that legal background, MULAN said delays resulting from difficulty in constituting appropriate appellate panels affect the ability of litigants to have their cases heard promptly.

The association therefore wants the concern taken into account by those responsible for judicial appointments and the management of appellate courts.

Beyond the judiciary, the lawyers also used their Lafia meeting to comment on Nigeria’s economic situation.

MULAN acknowledged what it described as efforts by the Federal Government to stabilise the economy through policies aimed at addressing long-running economic difficulties. It nevertheless said many Nigerians were becoming impatient for those policies to produce tangible relief in their daily lives.

The association said Nigerians “can no longer wait” for the widely promised benefits of the government’s economic measures to become visible, reflecting continuing concern over the gap between economic policy announcements and the experience of households.

The economic comments came as the Federal Government continues to defend reforms introduced over the past three years, with President Bola Tinubu saying in his October 1 Independence Day address that the country had moved from what he called an era of emergency economic reforms into a new phase focused on prosperity and reducing the cost of living.

MULAN’s position, however, was that whatever improvements government points to must increasingly be felt by ordinary Nigerians.

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