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 29, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo lauded the verdict...
Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo lauded the verdict of the Sharia Appeal Court in Sokoto which overturned the death sentence passed on Safiya Tungar-Tudu by a lower sharia court in October 2001for committing adultery
- MARCH 28, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The European Union (EU) welcomed the acquittal of Safiya...
The European Union (EU) welcomed the acquittal of Safiya Hussaini by the Sokoto Sharia Court of Appeal
- MARCH 28, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The European Union (EU) welcomed the acquittal of Safiya...
The European Union (EU) welcomed the acquittal of Safiya Hussaini by the Sokoto Sharia Court of Appeal
- MARCH 26, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
In Nigeria, the acquittal of Safiya Hussaini, the woman...
In Nigeria, the acquittal of Safiya Hussaini, the woman who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, was welcomed with a tremendous joy except among the supporters of strict enforcement of shari'ah, the Islamic law
- MARCH 26, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
International Human Rights Watch urged Nigerian government...
International Human Rights Watch urged Nigerian government authorities to ensure that courts refrain from sentencing people to cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments that are prohibited by international law
- MARCH 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
A Nigerian Sharia court freed a mother of five who...
A Nigerian Sharia court freed a mother of five who had been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery in a judgement by a lower Muslim court in October 2001 that sparked international outrage
- MARCH 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Governor Ahmed Sani of Zamfara State ruled out any...
Governor Ahmed Sani of Zamfara State ruled out any further dialogue on the implementation of the shari'ah legal system in the state
- MARCH 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation...
The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is deeply concerned by the sentencing to death by stoning of 35 year-old Amina Lawal
- MARCH 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigerian officials said a second woman has been sentenced...
Nigerian officials said a second woman has been sentenced to death by stoning by a sharia court for adultery
- MARCH 25, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
In response to the ruling reversing Safiya Hussaini...
In response to the ruling reversing Safiya Hussaini Tungar-Tudu's death sentence the governor of Sokoto state, Attahiru Bafarawa, attacked the European Union and various women's rights groups for their criticism of the Islamic court
- MARCH 24, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International welcomed the Nigerian federal...
Amnesty International welcomed the Nigerian federal justice minister Godwin Agabi's move advising all 12 northern states that any court "which imposes discriminatory punishment is deliberately flouting the constitution
- MARCH 24, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Olubunmi...
The Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, appealed to the northern Nigerian state of Sokoto that has reintroduced strict Islamic law not to carry out the sentence of death by stoning that it has imposed on a 35-year-old woman for adultery