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.

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“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.

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“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.

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“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)

Why we requested 6 constitutional amendments – MURIC