The Muslim Rights Concern has urged the National Assembly to amend the Nigerian Constitution to establish Sharia courts across the South-West states and declare Fridays as public holidays in recognition of Muslim religious practices.
The organisation made its demands at the South-West Zonal Public Hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution, held in Lagos. Representing MURIC’s Executive Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, at the hearing was Dr. Jamiu Busari, a senior member of the group.
Akintola, through the presentation, argued that the absence of Sharia courts in the South-West—despite the significant Muslim population—was a form of exclusion and religious imbalance.
“There is currently no Sharia court in any state of the South-West, including Edo State, despite the large number of Muslims in the region,” Akintola stated.
“This contradicts the pre-colonial legal traditions in Yoruba Muslim communities before the British imposed their system.”
He called for the creation of Sharia Courts of Appeal in every state with a sizable Muslim population, stressing that such courts would only preside over cases involving Muslims and would not interfere with the rights of non-Muslims.
“These courts are solely for Muslims and would not infringe on the rights of non-Muslims. It’s about fairness and legal inclusion,” he said.
MURIC also demanded that Fridays be recognised as public holidays nationwide, in line with Islamic traditions and historical precedent.
“Before colonialism, Thursdays and Fridays were considered the weekend in Muslim societies. But today, only Saturday and Sunday are recognised, which favours Christians,” Akintola said.
“The current structure, which was inherited from colonial rule and reinforced under the Gowon regime, is lopsided and denies Muslims equal recognition.”
He further claimed that out of Nigeria’s eight national public holidays, only three benefit Muslims, while five are Christian-related. He urged lawmakers to include the Islamic New Year as a national public holiday to address the imbalance.
In addition, the group called for equal recognition of Islamic marriages in legal and official matters. Akintola argued that the government’s failure to accept Nikkah (Islamic) marriages as valid for formal documentation purposes is discriminatory.
“It is unjust that Christian marriages are automatically recognised nationwide, while Muslim marriages face hurdles in being accepted. This discrepancy must be addressed,” he said.
Echoing MURIC’s position, the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN) also advocated for the creation of specialised Islamic finance courts to cater to the unique needs of Muslim economic practices.
Responding to the presentations, Senate Leader and Chairman of the Lagos hearing, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who represented Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, assured participants that all submissions would be reviewed and considered during the constitutional amendment process.
“We will take every submission seriously and report back to the National Assembly for deliberation,” Bamidele said.
