Nigeria
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- federal presidential republic
- CONSTITUTION
- a new constitution was adopted in 1999
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on English common law, Islamic law (in 12 northern states), and tribal norms
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- bicameral, Senate and House of Representatives
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court (judges appointed by the Provisional Government Council); Federal Court of Appeal (judges appointed by the federal government on the recommendation of the Advisory Judicial Committee)
RELIGIONS
50% Muslims, 40% Christians, 10% local beliefs
From the country
- MARCH 16, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
European Union leaders urged Nigeria to show clemency...
European Union leaders urged Nigeria to show clemency towards a woman sentenced to death by stoning for having sex outside of marriage
- MARCH 14, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski appealed to...
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski appealed to the Nigerian president to commute the death sentence of Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu
- MARCH 11, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Nigerian Army warned that the soldiers will face...
The Nigerian Army warned that the soldiers will face the death penalty if they took part a proposed strike by junior army officers and their counterparts in the police over pay and conditions
- MARCH 11, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
About 10,000 members of the Catholic Church staged...
About 10,000 members of the Catholic Church staged a protest in Enugu Sate after 14 worshippers died at the Government Technical College (GTC) on March 7 after a religious function
- MARCH 7, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
A Nigerian Catholic archbishop voluntarily offered...
A Nigerian Catholic archbishop voluntarily offered to die in place of a Muslim woman condemned to death by stoning by an Islamic court for the crime of adultery
- FEBRUARY 26, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
A Sharia court in Dutse, Yobe State sentenced Bello...
A Sharia court in Dutse, Yobe State sentenced Bello Abdulkadir to 80 strokes of the cane for drunkenness
- FEBRUARY 22, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Italy's professional football association organised...
Italy's professional football association organised a protest over plans in Nigeria to stone a woman to death
- FEBRUARY 20, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Recently, the European Parliament passed a resolution...
Recently, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning all forms of religious intolerance 'in particular the northern Nigerian Islamic courts' selective justice that sentenced Safiya Hussaini to death by stoning"
- FEBRUARY 20, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
A court in Nigeria's Kebbi State convicted two people...
A court in Nigeria's Kebbi State convicted two people to death by hanging for their involvement in separate robbery cases
- FEBRUARY 19, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo hinted that a...
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo hinted that a woman sentenced to death for having sex outside of marriage would win a reprieve, saying the outcome of her appeal would "gladden hearts"
- FEBRUARY 12, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Federal Government expressed reservations about...
The Federal Government expressed reservations about the European Union's concern over the death penalty for some offences in Nigeria
- FEBRUARY 8, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Imam of Muslim inmates at the Federal Prisons in...
The Imam of Muslim inmates at the Federal Prisons in Awka, Anambra State, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullahi Anadu, awarded a scholarship to Adama, the daughter of the alleged Sokoto adulteress, Safiya Hussaini Tungar Tudu