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, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Godwin Agabi, the justice minister, declared that any...
Godwin Agabi, the justice minister, declared that any court "which imposes discriminatory punishment is deliberately flouting the constitution"
- MARCH 20, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigerian human rights activists and lawyers say they...
Nigerian human rights activists and lawyers say they are cautiously optimistic an Islamic appeals court will reverse a sentence of death by stoning passed on a Muslim mother convicted of adultery
- MARCH 18, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Human rights activists in Nigeria said they are confident...
Human rights activists in Nigeria said they are confident the sharia judges will not be able to ignore the international appeals for clemency for Safiya Hussaini, who was condemned to death for adultery by an Islamic court
- MARCH 18, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Lawyers familiar with the Islamic legal system in Sokoto...
Lawyers familiar with the Islamic legal system in Sokoto told AFP that there were three possible scenarios for the outcome of Safiya Hussaini's appeal at the Shari'a appellate court in Sokoto
- MARCH 18, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Safiya Hussaini's appeal against death by stoning for...
Safiya Hussaini's appeal against death by stoning for having a child out of wedlock was postponed to March 25 by the Sharia court in the northern Nigerian state of Sokoto
- MARCH 17, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister Sule Lamido in an...
Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister Sule Lamido in an audience with a European Union troika at Abuja rebutted the EU's criticism of the death penalty
- MARCH 17, 2002NigeriaDEATH PENALTY
Safiya Hussaini, 35, condemned by an Islamic court...
Safiya Hussaini, 35, condemned by an Islamic court in Sokoto, Nigeria, to be stoned to death while buried up to her waist in sand, claims she was singled out because she is "a woman and poor", an argument that human rights groups have backed
- 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