Oba orders dissolution of Sharia law panel in Ekiti

Oba orders dissolution of Sharia law panel in Ekiti

The Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe, on Saturday, ordered the dissolution of the Sharia panel set up at the Central Mosque, Ado Ekiti, in the interest of peaceful coexistence and law and order in the committee.

The monarch stated this in Ado Ekiti during a meeting with the community’s chiefs and indigenes, as well as the Chief Imam and President of the League of Imams and Alfas in the Southwest, Edo, and Delta states, Sheikh Jamiu Kewulere, and other Muslim leaders.

Oba Adejugbe spoke in reaction to news reports last week that stipulated the first public sitting of a Shari’ah panel in the state, which resolved two marriage disputes.

This came barely two days after the state government said that the existing legal structure in the state did not recognise the Sharia Court or Sharia Arbitration Panel.

Oba Adejugbe said, “Based on this sharia issue, I summoned the Chief Imam and his lieutenants, members of the Ewi-in-Council, the president of Ado Progressives Union, and Ado sons and daughters to discuss the matter because it is a sensitive issue.

“We all listened, and it appears they set up a committee at the Central Mosque intending to listen to disputes. According to them, they have good intentions, and it was an internal arrangement that has nothing to do with any external person or somebody influencing them.

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“I told them the mood of the nation will not allow such to happen now, that they should revert to how the founding fathers of the mosque had been settling disputes in the past without setting up a committee.

“I told them that there is no need for the committee and they should dissolve the committee henceforth. That is the decision of the Ewi-in-Council, and that is the position of all Ado sons and daughters. The panel stands dissolved.

“If we should allow such a committee, the Christians too will want to set up committees in their various churches, the traditional worshippers too, and before you know it, it will lead to crises.”

Speaking earlier, Kewulere, the chief imam, confirmed the formation of the committee, which he said had handled a marital dispute and postponed on a second matter, and denied any allegations that it was formed for malicious purposes.

Kewulere, who stated that Muslims and devotees of other religions had enjoyed amicable ties, added, “Basically, the committee is to look into matters of inheritance in the interest of our members.”