y the ruling of the five-judge at the Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeals, to the cry of Allahu Akbar (God is great) by the Court crowd, Nigeria has been admitted into the league of civilized nations. The five-judge Sharia Appeal Court overturned the lower Sharia Court verdict of March 2002 of stoning to death of a 31-year old Amina Lawal for having a baby out of wedlock. Judge Aminu Ibrahim, Alhaji Sule Mohammed, Alhaji Ibrahim Meangwa and Alhaji Shehu Muazu agreed on the judgment, while Alhaji Sule Sada dissented.

The Judges 4-1 decision, agreed that Amina was never caught during the act; the required number of witnesses (four) did not testify in the case; that Amina Lawal's withdrawal of her confession was ignored by the Funtua Sharia Court judge; she was not allowed to defend herself; she did not understand the implication of the allegation brought against her; only one judge, out of three, as required by the Islamic Law, was present at the initial conviction; even when the prosecution started, it was based on rumor; pregnancy alone, according to the Judges, was not enough evidence for adultery. Finally the father of the two-year old baby, Yahaya Mohammed, has promised to marry Amina. With this judgment Nigeria has been saved from further embarrassment.

No one is against the Sharia law, what Nigerians and the goodwill members of the new global village are saying, is that the Sharia Law needs some modifications, and justly applied. Sharia Law is needed, in some quarters in Nigeria, to curb the social and moral debauchery in the society. It could be modified, by not taking life, for such incidents committed by the practitioners of the faith.

As mentioned in one of my previous articles on July 19, 2000 titled "The Other Side of Sharia", published on this site "The question of mental laziness comes in, using religion, which admits little, if any of the spirit of inquiring of empirical or ocular proof; then religion becomes an intoxicant. Religion urges the heart to rule the head, and many men, otherwise rational men in Nigeria for instance, are often willing to even die in defense of their faith they do not understand." The Judge that first heard this case in the first instance ought to have handled the case by following the procedures laid down by the Sharia Law. In his haste to score a political point, he has brought some embarrassment to the Sharia Law. In other words in the quest for personal political gains, individual religious leaders and some politicians exploited the underprivileged masses. In essence "for most people, religion is the proof of their lives. Because it strives to preserve the obedience of their adherents, and sometimes to provoke their will to revolt, it is powerful instrument for good and for bad. Religion then is like a slippery terrain, more slippery than a banana peel. However, the path of wisdom is to avoid the terrain; i.e., to stay away from religious doctrines to rule the people. Taking short cuts to address the ills of the society would not last in the Nigerian context."

The Sharia Law is, therefore, "all things to all men," and certain forms could be upheld or cast aside with justification on a strict interpretation. On the whole, the Sharia Law, in its application, could influence and sustain independence or perpetuate dependency. The major challenge is that one of the most striking aspects of Sharia Law is that Islamic theory does not recognize the possibility of human legislation. In the strict sense, all that a human ruler can do is to make regulations for carrying the Divine Law into effect.

In any system, based on the notion of "checks and balances," it is the judiciary, which ultimately holds the balance between the executive and the legislature on the one hand, and between those two arms of government and ordinary citizens on the other. However, in Nigeria the practice of checks and balances has not been fully honored. With the ruling on Amina Lawal's case, Sharia Law could be hustling alongside the rule of law.

The Sharia law, punishments in most cases, outweighed the offences. A death sentence for bringing someone into life through the 'backdoor' is embarrassing to the system, to say the least. The Koran does not foresee the death penalty. The sacred Moslem book clearly says that life is a gift of God. We need to denounce the selective and abusive use of Sharia. Sharia Law, as practiced in Nigeria, ignores corruption in high places but targets the powerless. Sharia law goes after the poor masses. Commissioners get away with government properties that could have cost them all their limbs, and nothing was done to them. Whereas, a common man on the street that stole about 10 kilos of meat, lost his arm.

We want the 1,400 years old Sharia law to be fairly adjudicated to everyone that believes and practices the faith regardless his status in the society. The Sharia Law victims are the less privileged ones and Talakawas. Whereas those in the confines and comfort of their private homes committing adultery and homosexuality, are not caught and tried according to the Sharia Law? Those who are well to do are never victims of Sharia. Is it true that "kundin gomnati ba kundin woni ba ne"? Or that government money is nobody's money?

Ironically most of the twelve States practicing Sharia law (Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara), are faced with hunger and poverty, which continue to threaten the existence of the common man, and he is always the victim of the Sharia law. Something needs to be done to allow a level playing ground for the implementation of Sharia legal system.

We are aware of the fact that religion is essentially and primarily an individual affair. Some may argue that religion is a communal affair. However, I would assert that it is only in religious extremism that domination, discrimination, and persecution is placed above fairness. Nonetheless, I allude to the fact that the ethics of each religion demand love, peace, justice, and tolerance of other people and religions.

I will join others to say that "this is a victory for the Sharia legal system. This is a victory for justice. This judgment has made the crucial point that the Sharia Law is a well-developed legal system that places emphasis on objectivity, respect for evidence, serious regard for the truth and a holistic perspective that combines morality and legality." The interpreters of the law should not interject their personal feelings into the Sharia Law. I believe that Sharia Law needs some modifications and adjudicated fairly in its application.

We should congratulate all that worked so hard to bring Amina Lawal back to life thus opening the eyes of the Judges to the procedural languages of the Sharia Law. The well-meaning individuals, media, critics, organizations, those that traveled all the way to Nigeria from all over the world, Opral Winfery Show, that devoted a segment of her show to Amina Lawal's situation, should be commended for their roles regardless how little to the success story of Amina Lawal's freedom. We hope 'free ladies' watch out for the 'hungry wolfs' that are determined to jeopardize their life for a five-minute fun.

We hope States where Sharia Law is being practiced would definitely modify the implementation of the Sharia laws in their respective States.

Allahu Akbar!