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 21, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Upper Sharia Court in Bauchi State, Nigeria, overturned...
The Upper Sharia Court in Bauchi State, Nigeria, overturned the conviction of Jibrin Babaji, a 23-year-old man who had been sentenced to be stoned to death for molesting three young boys
- MARCH 17, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
During his state visit to Nigeria, German President...
During his state visit to Nigeria, German President Johannes Rau criticised the fact that Islamic law was applied in the north of the country
- MARCH 10, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Recent revelation by the Federal Government that 458...
Recent revelation by the Federal Government that 458 condemned men have been in various prisons in some parts of the country, awaiting the hangman for the past 20 years and above, is a sad commentary on our judicial process
- MARCH 6, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Judges at the Tangerang District Court in Indonesia...
Judges at the Tangerang District Court in Indonesia sentenced Nigerian Stephen Rasyaad Akinyemi, 35, to death by firing squad for drug smuggling
- MARCH 1, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria said that it was looking for ways to "decongest"...
Nigeria said that it was looking for ways to "decongest" the death row sections of its jails, where 458 prisoners were awaiting execution, some of them for more than 20 years
- FEBRUARY 18, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
"The death penalty, as a mode of punishment, is contrary...
"The death penalty, as a mode of punishment, is contrary to the contemporary human rights standards and values and, thus, its continued application in Nigeria would downgrade the status of the country among the comity of democratic nation-states that have
- FEBRUARY 11, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI), an influential Nigerian...
The Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI), an influential Nigerian Islamic body, warned Amnesty International to stop interfering in Islamic religion in the name of human rights campaigns
- FEBRUARY 9, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The use of the death penalty in Nigeria violates women's...
The use of the death penalty in Nigeria violates women's human rights by curbing their right to a fair trial and by exposing them to homicide charges for abortion-related offences, the rights group Amnesty International said in a report
- FEBRUARY 6, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, Nigeria,...
An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan, Nigeria, sentenced Rasheed Olaiya, 38, to death by hanging after convicting him of killing a five-month old baby
- JANUARY 30, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
The Ikeja High Court, Nigeria, sentenced to death five...
The Ikeja High Court, Nigeria, sentenced to death five Lagos State secondary school students to death for killing businessman Daniel Obi on February 1, 1995 in the Ajegunle area of the state
- JANUARY 27, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Justice Oduneye of an Ikeja high court in Nigeria,...
Justice Oduneye of an Ikeja high court in Nigeria, sentenced three Igunnuko followers to death by hanging for killing a church leader, Pastor Oluwatosin Olajide on 21 December 1996 during a bloody clash between Igunnuko adherents and members of the Aposto
- JANUARY 13, 2004NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
A.I. Akpe, head of the Nigerian Prison Service, was...
A.I. Akpe, head of the Nigerian Prison Service, was reported as saying that there were 476 men and 11 women awaiting execution in Nigerian prisons, with some having been on death row for up to 10 years