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
- MAY 20, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Two human rights groups called on the Nigerian authorities...
Two human rights groups called on the Nigerian authorities to disband government-backed vigilante groups, including one accused of a reign of terror in the southeast of the country
- MAY 10, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
A Sharia court in northern Nigeria sentenced a 50-year...
A Sharia court in northern Nigeria sentenced a 50-year old man to be stoned to death after he admitted raping a nine-year old girl
- MAY 8, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Two Nigerians who converted to Christianity nearly...
Two Nigerians who converted to Christianity nearly met their maker sooner than they anticipated
- APRIL 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria voted against the resolution 2002/77 on the...
Nigeria voted against the resolution 2002/77 on the death penalty at the 58th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigerian Muslim prosecutors are seeking the death penalty...
Nigerian Muslim prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for two men accused of converting from Islam to Christianity
- APRIL 24, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The General Secretariat for Equality asked that Greece...
The General Secretariat for Equality asked that Greece officially intervene in the case of a Nigerian woman sentenced to death by stoning on charges of adultery by a Muslim sharia court in Nigeria
- APRIL 17, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The European Parliament urged the Nigerian Federal...
The European Parliament urged the Nigerian Federal Government to ensure that law courts act in accordance with international law on human rights and the declaration of rights included in Nigeria's Constitution
- APRIL 13, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Radical Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky,...
Radical Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, accused governors of states in the North that have adopted the Islamic legal code, Sharia, of using it selfishly
- APRIL 10, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International called on the governor of Anambra...
Amnesty International called on the governor of Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria, to end human rights abuses committed by its "crime busting" unit, the so-called Bakassi Boys
- APRIL 4, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Amina Lawal, a 30-year-old Nigerian woman condemned...
Amina Lawal, a 30-year-old Nigerian woman condemned to die by stoning for adultery, has filed an appeal against her sentence
- MARCH 30, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Nigerian Army said that it has no place for trade...
The Nigerian Army said that it has no place for trade unionism and that it is impossible for its soldiers to go on strike since such an action would be viewed as a mutiny, which carries the death penalty
- MARCH 29, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Police in Nigeria's Enugu state arrested the Divisional...
Police in Nigeria's Enugu state arrested the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) for Nsukka and seven of his men over the alleged murder of Nnaemeka Ugwoke and Izuchukwu Ayogu, both former students of Nsukka high school