Ekiti State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Dayo Apata (SAN), has denied the existence of either the Sharia Court or the proposed Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel in the State.
He made this known in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday.
The clarification became necessary as a result of insinuations in some quarters that there are surreptitious moves to introduce Sharia in some South West states of Nigeria
Apata insisted that the Independent Sharia Arbitration Panel is not in the judicial structure of the State, noting that “Arbitration and/or Mediation issue is a Quasi-Judicial matters which are regulated by Law” in the State.
He said the existing legal structure in Ekiti State (i.e. Customary Court, Customary Court of Appeal and High Court) has been handling issues relating to Islamic, Christian and Traditional Marriages and inheritance without any rancour or agitation.
According to him, “the Sharia Courts in the North are equivalent to the Customary Courts in the Southern part of Nigeria wherein the Appeals therefrom also goes to the Sharia Court of Appeal”, adding that “the State similarly has Customary Courts that hear customary cases as well as the Customary Court of Appeal that hears appeals from the Customary Courts”.
He said further that the States High Courts and all other Courts also have Arbitration and Mediation mechanism, Apata emphasised that Customary Courts and the Customary Court of Appeal can effectively take care of any customary issues arising from Yoruba Traditional Marriages, Islamic Marriages, and Christian Marriages especially the ones that were not backed-up by the Statutory Marriages which can only be dissolved by the States High Courts throughout Nigeria.
Apata cautioned against activities that may negatively affect the peace of the State, adding that government is not unmindful of the fact the race for 2026 Governorship election is gathering momentum in Ekiti Sthe and opposition members that cannot fault the performance of the State Government have resorted to all sort of unethical practices.
He then pleaded with religious leaders to be weary of being used as tools by politicians and fifth columnists because Government will not hesitate to invoke the full weight of the law to protect the Constitution of the Federation and maintain peaceful co-existence in the state.