January

  The Oyo State chapter of the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria, an Islamic organization, has announced plans to establish a Sharia court within the state and its surrounding areas. The group, in a flier that went viral on Tuesday, invited guests from across the country to the court’s inauguration ceremony, which will be held on January 11, 2025, at the Muslim Community Islamic Centre, Oba Adeyemi High School Road, Mobolaje Area, Oyo. The flier also listed Bashorun of Oyo land, High Chief Yusuf Akinade Olayinka 1 as Royal father of the day; Mufairu of Oyo land, Alhaji Abdullateef Eleyele as the Spiritual father of the day, and Aare Musulumi of Oyo land, Alhaji Tajudeen Kamorise as the chief host. However, the upcoming ceremony has been greeted by disapproval from netizens, with many arguing that the South West, populated by Yoruba people, is not in any way north where Muslims are more dominant. One X user who identified with the name #OurFavOnlineDoc said, “To whom it may concern, Please read this post and listen well. If sharia law gets implemented in your state, Let me tell you ahead what will happen. “You can be randomly arrested and imprisoned for ‘indecent dressing’. EVEN IF you are not a Muslim, EVEN if you are a Christian, EVEN IF you are a traditionalist, EVEN IF you don’t subscribe to Sharia, and EVEN if you are an atheist. “During Ramadan, you can be arrested for selling food. Even if you are not a Muslim. As long as they can claim you were selling it to Muslims. I am NOT telling you what they may do. I am telling you what they have ALREADY done.” He continued, “Once you hear ‘sharia law’, just run for your life. They will use it to kill, imprison, cut off people’s limbs, torture, and institutionalise oppression. And guess who the biggest victims will be? The poor and the less privileged. You better lend your voice to say no. Another netizen who tweeted with the handle #Baba Ajisefa wrote, “If you’re silent on this sharia law saga in southwest, then you’re enabling it. Even if we can’t see the implications of the laws in other nations, we can see it in the north. “The question is ‘what progress does it bring?’ And those that claim it will be for Muslims only don’t forget that was how they started in the north, and Hisbah can arrest anyone now. We reject Sharia law in its entirety. No to sharia law in Yorubaland.” “Reject any Sharia, anything. Don’t even concede an inch. Because na so e dey start,” one Ugo on X.com opined. An X user who tweeted with the handle #Alabi said, “Genuine question: If you’re so passionate about Sharia, why not move to where it is practiced?” “This Sharia Law conversation proves that amalgamating Nigeria was a terrible decision, and true federalism/regional sectionalism or ‘un-amalgamation’ would be the solution. Because why should the entire country be subject to the religious limitations of a select people?? “Especially because this is what led to the Taliban and the downfall of Afghanistan. No country should ever be subjected to such extreme religious practices. I don’t need your extremes to police my flaws. Enforce it in your household. Thank you,” one user, Motolani Alake, wrote on X.com. In his opinion, a user who identified as Tosin.X wrote, “Some of you think to say Sharia na play. Na from Quilox Lagos Isbah go carry you go kirikiri.” Meanwhile, every attempt by our correspondent to reach the Chairman and Secretary of Sharia Committee in Oyo land, Dr Rafiu Bello and Sulaimon Abuqoodi, proved abortive, as calls and messages sent to their mobile numbers were neither taken nor responded to.