The Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN) on Saturday urged the House of Representatives Constitution Review Sub-committee to amend the 1999 Constitution to expand the jurisdiction of Sharia Courts of Appeal beyond Islamic personal law.

The council also rejected proposed constitutional amendments seeking to grant states exclusive control over mineral resources found within their territories.

The council cautioned that such provisions could deepen regional divisions and undermine national cohesion.

Presenting the council’s memorandum at the North-West Public Hearing of the Constitution Review in Kaduna, the secretary general of the SCSN, Nafi’u Baba-Ahmed, said current constitutional provisions restricting the Sharia Court of Appeal to personal law matters amounted to discrimination against Muslims.

He said the council recommended deleting the word “personal” from Sections 262 and 277 of the constitution to enable the Sharia Court of Appeal to handle broader Islamic civil matters.

“The limitation imposed on the Sharia Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction violates the principle of equal access to justice,” he said.

According to him, the proposed amendment would address longstanding concerns of Muslim litigants whose Islamic civil disputes often end up before non-Muslim judges unfamiliar with Sharia jurisprudence.

On fiscal reforms, Mr Baba-Ahmed said the council opposed bills seeking to amend section 44 of the constitution to allow states to exercise full control over minerals, oil, and gas, with only 25 per cent of proceeds remitted to the federation account.

“This is essentially a move to transfer national oil wealth to producing states, leaving others behind,” he said.

He argued that Nigeria’s oil assets were developed from the collective contributions of all regions and should therefore remain under federal control to sustain unity.

The council also rejected proposals to automatically domesticate international human rights treaties once ratified by the executive.

It said that such measures could compromise Nigeria’s sovereignty and expose it to foreign values inconsistent with local religious and cultural norms.

SCSN faulted the bill seeking to commute death sentences for pregnant women to life imprisonment, suggesting instead that executions be deferred until after childbirth and weaning.

On electoral reforms, the council recommended that instead of creating a new Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission, the functions should be housed within the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to avoid unnecessary duplication and costs.

The council further cautioned on gender-based reserved seats in the legislature, describing such provisions as discriminatory against men and unnecessary, given the existing constitutional guarantees for women’s participation.

Mr Baba-Ahmed stated that the council was not opposed to the idea of reverting to a parliamentary system of government, but insisted such a major change would require a holistic constitutional overhaul to maintain coherence.

He also urged that the creation of local governments should be treated uniformly across all states, rather than singling out Lagos for special constitutional recognition of its 37 development councils.

The hearing, which was held at the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Hall in Kaduna, was chaired by the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Madaki Aliyu-Sani, who assured that all views submitted would be given due consideration in the constitution amendment process.

The ongoing exercise is considering 86 bills across various thematic areas, including judicial reforms, devolution of powers, resource control, security, electoral matters, and inclusive governance.

(NAN)