The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the National Assembly to amend the 1999 Constitution to establish Sharia Courts across all South-Western states, and to recognise Friday as a public holiday for Muslim worshippers.
The group made the demands during the South-West Zonal Public Hearing on the ongoing constitutional review held in Lagos. Representing the Executive Director of MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, was Dr. Jamiu Busari, who made a robust case for legal and religious reforms in favour of the Muslim population.
Busari argued that the absence of Sharia Courts in the Southwest—despite what he described as a “significant Muslim presence”—amounts to constitutional imbalance and marginalisation.
“No Sharia Court currently exists in South-West Nigeria, despite the fact that Muslims arguably constitute the majority. This contradicts the historical pre-colonial Yoruba system where Islamic law was practiced before British colonisation,” he said.
MURIC urged the National Assembly to mandate the creation of Sharia Courts of Appeal in all states with considerable Muslim populations, including Edo State.
According to the group, the proposed Sharia Courts would strictly handle matters concerning Muslims, with no jurisdiction over non-Muslims.
In addition to judicial reform, MURIC demanded that Friday be designated as an official public holiday, citing historical and religious precedence.
“Thursdays and Fridays were traditionally observed as the weekend in many Muslim societies, including in pre-colonial Nigeria. But today, Saturday and Sunday, which cater to Christian worship, are the officially recognised weekend days,” Akintola said in a statement read by Busari.
He accused the colonial administration and later Nigerian governments of skewing national holidays in favour of Christian interests, pointing to the Gowon regime’s adoption of Saturday as a full work-free day to accommodate Seventh-Day Adventists.
“The current weekend structure and holiday schedule are not religiously balanced. Of the eight national holidays, five favour Christians while only three accommodate Muslims,” he added.
MURIC is also pushing for the Islamic New Year to be formally recognised as a public holiday, and for the federal government to officially accept Nikkah (Islamic marriage) certificates in legal and bureaucratic settings, just as Christian marriages are recognised.
“It is discriminatory and undemocratic to accept Christian marriages conducted in churches and registries while ignoring Islamic marriages. This injustice must be corrected,” Akintola stated.
The Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) also backed MURIC’s position, calling for the establishment of specialised Sharia Courts and Islamic financial courts to strengthen the Islamic legal and economic system.
Reacting to the demands, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, who represented Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau at the public hearing, assured that all memoranda would be carefully reviewed and forwarded to the Senate for consideration.
The constitutional review hearing also featured submissions from labour groups, students, youth representatives, and women’s organisations.
PLATFORM TIMES reports that the Senate Committee is currently collating input from various geopolitical zones as part of its effort to amend the 1999 Constitution to reflect emerging national realities.
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