7th July, 2025
PRESS RELEASE:
WHY WE REQUESTED 6 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS – MURIC
The Senate Committee on Constitutional amendments South
West Zone sat on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th, July, 2025
for its public hearing. Among those who presented position papers was an
Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC). The group
tabled six requests for constitutional amendments.
As a follow-up to its position paper, the
faith-based non-governmental organization issued a press statement on Monday, 7th
July, 2025 to explain the rationale for asking the Senate to amend six areas in
the Nigerian constitution. The statement was signed by the Founder and Executive Director of
the advocacy group for Allah-given fundamental human rights, Professor Ishaq
Akintola.
MURIC explained its position:
“We must start from the lanes of history because today was born
from the wombs of yesterday. Islam has been in Nigeria since the 11th century
and the British met Islam on ground when they arrived in the 19th century
(800 years later). The British did not deem it fit to observe the rules of
natural justice when they colonized the country as all Islamic landmarks were
eliminated and supplanted with a Christian system.
“This injustice may have been at the root of frequent religious
crisis in Nigeria because successive governments after independence refused to
listen to the agitations of Muslims for a review of the status quo. Colonial
administration was therefore grossly unfair to Muslims. Nigeria was
Christianised by Britain and Muslims bore the brunt.
“The issues being raised by Muslims for consideration during the
constitution amendment exercise are listed in the following paragraphs so that
the lawmakers can address them.
“One: Nigerians enjoy a total of eight (8) public holidays in
a year. These are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year Day, Good Friday, Easter
Monday, Id al-Kabir, Id al-Fitr and Maulud an-Nabiyy. Five (5) of the eight
holidays belong to Christians (Christmas Day, Boxing Day, 1st January,
i.e, New Year Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday). Only three (3) holidays
belong to Muslims, viz, Id al-Kabir, Id al-Fitr and Maulud an-Nabiyy.
“The planned constitutional amendment should make the restructuring
of Nigeria’s holidays mandatory so that 1st Muharram (or
Hijrah) holiday which Nigerian Muslims have been clamouring for can become
officially recognized nationwide. This will bring the total number of Muslim
holidays to four while Christian holidays remain five.
“Two: Christian marriages contracted inside churches or
registries are held sacrosanct everywhere in Nigeria whereas Muslim marriages
(nikah) are not recognized for any official purpose. Muslim couples find
themselves in a cul de sac each time they presented their
Islamic marriage certificates for official purposes. It is paradoxical that in
a democracy, one marriage conducted by a religious group is acceptable while
the other is not.
“We therefore propose a constitutional amendment revisiting the
Nigerian Marriage Act (1990) to ensure that Islamic marriages are recognized in
all official circles like Christian marriages.
“Three: Thursday and Friday were the weekends enjoyed by
Muslims in the precolonial era. Today, Nigeria has a two-day weekend, viz,
Saturday and Sunday. The latter was imposed by the colonial masters but
Saturday was a half day during the colonial era and Sunday was the only full
day at the weekend. However, Saturday was made a full day to favour the Seventh
Day Adventists, a Christian denomination during the regime of General Yakubu
Gowon, a Christian military ruler. It is very clear, therefore, that the two
weekend days recognized in Nigeria belong to Christians while Muslims have none
since Friday, the Muslim day of worship, remains a working day.
“It is pertinent to note that Friday was a work-free day until the
British brought Christianity and stopped Muslims from enjoying their
Allah-given fundamental human right. The relief we are seeking through an
amendment or restructuring is that Friday should be declared free to assume
parity with the Christians’ Sunday. While we are not seeking anarchy, we are
confident that the Federal Government (FG) has all the paraphernalia of
administration to work out the modalities.
“Four: Immigration officials engage in regular stereotyping of
Muslims who apply for international passports. They intimidate Muslims
particularly at the point of taking pictures. Muslim males are ordered to
remove their caps; Imams are coerced into removing their turbans; bearded
Muslims are compelled to shave or trim their beards; hijab-wearing Muslim women
are made to remove their hijabs or ordered to draw their hijab backwards to
reveal their ears. The same scenario plays itself out in driving licence, national
identity card offices and during registration for elections.
“In the process, thousands of Muslims have been denied
international passports, driving licences and national identity
cards while millions have been disenfranchised during elections. The
authorities must find a way of stopping the persecution and profiling of
Muslims. If necessary, this should be done through a mention or an amendment of
the constitution spelling out specifics of identifications in Nigeria without
prejudice to the adherents of any faith. The digitalization, identification and
documentation of all Nigerian citizens should accommodate all religions.
“Five: Uniformed groups in Nigeria, including the army, police,
uniformed voluntary groups, nurses, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC),
students of primary and secondary schools, etc, use uniforms designed by the
Christian colonialists. These uniforms should have been reviewed after
independence because they only suit Christian values. Some of them constitute
breaches to Islamic dress code and offend the sensibilities of Muslims who are
compelled to wear the uniforms regardless of their inner feeling of resentment.
“In view of the fact that Western countries like Britain, Canada
and the United States have designed uniforms with hijab for their female Muslim,
soldiers, police, students, etc, Nigerian Muslims are in dire need of
constitutional protection. Official uniforms in the country should be friendly
to all religions.
“Six: There is no single Shari’ah court in South Western Nigeria
where Muslims constitute the majority. This is contrary to what obtained in
Yorubaland before the advent of the British. There were Shariah courts in Ede,
Iwo, Ikirun, Ibadan, etc. Yoruba Muslims are now compelled to take their civil
matters like inheritance, marriage, etc to Christo-Western courts. This is
preposterous and unacceptable.
“In particular, we propose an amendment to the clause ‘for any
state that desires it’ which is in Section 275 of the Constitution. The Section
says inter alia: There shall be for any state that desires it a Shari’ah Court
of Appeal for that state’.
“This clause has often been misinterpreted by anti-Muslim elements
as ‘for any state governor that desires it’. We are of the strong opinion that there
should be a constitutional provision compelling all state governors and their
assemblies to establish Shari’ah courts of appeal in their domains for their
Muslim citizens in the same manner that there are conventional courts in Muslim
dominated areas of the country.
“If Nigeria is truly
a democracy, its laws must not only be inclusive throughout the country but
also participatory. But what we have on ground is the contrary. Common law
courts which are Christian-oriented are everywhere in Nigeria, including places
like Kano, Maiduguri and Sokoto which are traditional Muslim areas but Shariah
courts are not allowed anywhere in the South. This is lack of accommodation, outright
intolerance and desertification of inclusiveness.
“It is an open
secret that Nigeria is a multi-religious country with three main types of faith:
Muslims, Christians and traditionalists. The Constitution has also prepared the
ground for a tripartite legal system to meet the needs of the adherents of the three
main religions. That is why we have common law for the Christians, Shariah Courts
for the Muslims and Customary Courts for the traditionalists. Common law and
customary courts are everywhere in Nigeria except Shari’ah courts which have
been restricted to the North. This is a violation of Allah-given fundamental
rights of Southern Muslims.
“As we draw the curtain, we jog the conscience of honest Nigerians
by reminding them that Christians anywhere in the country have access to five
layers of justice under common law, namely, the Magistrate Court, the High Court,
the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“But their Muslim counterparts in the South have no access to
their own Shariah anywhere at all. It amounts to undemocratic and tyrannical denial
of access to the judiciary. This must change if the Nigerian nation
acknowledges the existence of Muslims in the region, otherwise it becomes a
huge existential challenge and a threat to peace whose consequences are unfathomable.”
#NigerianSenate
#ConstituionalAmendment
#MuricSixReliefs
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
