Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Dr

Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Dr. Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, cautioned the Federal Government on the implication of stoning Amina Lawal for committing adultery. Okogie emphasised in the statement that if the Sharia court's judgement was executed, it would have grave economic, political, constitutional and religious consequences on the Nigerian polity, adding that apart from offending God, it would also attract divine wrath for shedding innocent blood. "We must stop playing God; We have no right to take life at will. It is only God that can take life because He creates life" Okogie warned. He described the laws used by the Sharia Court judges as archaic, barbaric and embarrassing, pointing out that though the Catholic Church was not against other peoples law and religious rights, it would vehemently oppose such canons when they are anti-social and discriminatory. He said, "the sentencing of Amina Lawal to death by stoning does not augur well for the unity, oneness and the cohesion of the nation", stressing that, "there cannot be two sets of laws; sharia was a customary law for Muslims before the military smuggled it into the constitution and cannot be made a universal national criminal law."