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
- OCTOBER 3, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Miss Denmark joined a boycott of the Miss World pageant...
Miss Denmark joined a boycott of the Miss World pageant to protest against a death sentence imposed on a Nigerian Muslim woman accused of having sex outside marriage
- OCTOBER 2, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria's Minister for Women's Affairs said her government...
Nigeria's Minister for Women's Affairs said her government was not involved in the Miss World pageant that Spain and other countries decided to boycott because a Islamic court in her country has sentenced a woman to be stoned to death
- OCTOBER 2, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria's Minister of Women's Affairs, Hajiha Aisha,...
Nigeria's Minister of Women's Affairs, Hajiha Aisha, said that the Miss World pageant scheduled to be held in Nigeria in December was a private event run by a private company and does not concern the government
- OCTOBER 2, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Lebanese former Finance Minister Georges Corm, said...
Lebanese former Finance Minister Georges Corm, said that the death sentence by stoning passed on Amina Lawal by a Nigerian Sharia Court did not serve the cause of Islam
- OCTOBER 1, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
New Zealand lawmakers of all parties wrote to Nigeria's...
New Zealand lawmakers of all parties wrote to Nigeria's president urging him to overturn the sentence of death by stoning imposed on a woman for having a child out of wedlock
- OCTOBER 1, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo gave assurances...
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo gave assurances that the country's higher appeal courts would quash the death-by-stoning sentences for adultery passed by Islamic courts
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The African National Congress (ANC) called on South...
The African National Congress (ANC) called on South African president Thabo Mbeki to urge his Nigerian counterpart to prevent the execution of Amina Lawal, who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery
- SEPTEMBER 29, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Daily Telegraph ran an article on Daniella Laun,...
The Daily Telegraph ran an article on Daniella Laun, Miss England World 2002, and her intentions not to boycott the Miss World contest in Nigeria so as to raise her voice at the event in favour of Amina Lawal, a Nigerian woman sentenced to death by stonin
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) appealed to...
The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) appealed to the Nigerian government to set aside the ruling of the Sharia Court that sentenced Amina Lawal to death by stoning for having had a baby outside wedlock
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The plight of a mother sentenced to death by stoning...
The plight of a mother sentenced to death by stoning for adultery in Nigeria drew bipartisan condemnation from female MPs in the New South Wales parliament
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Prosecutors urged an Islamic court in northwestern...
Prosecutors urged an Islamic court in northwestern Nigeria to throw out an appeal by a man sentenced to death by stoning for raping a young girl because his insanity claim was untenable
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Former US President Bill Clinton expressed hope that...
Former US President Bill Clinton expressed hope that the Nigerian legal system would find a way of pardoning Amina Lawal