The South African law society (LSSA) called for the...

The South African law society (LSSA) called for the Nigerian government to set aside the ruling of the Sharia court that sentenced Amina Lawal to death by stoning for having a baby out of wedlock. "We are calling on the Nigerian government, African Union women ministers and all champions of human rights to petition President Olesegun Obasanjo (of Nigeria) to pardon Lawal without delay in line with accepted human rights compliances," said Susan Abro, standing committee chairwoman on gender equality. "What has happened to the father of the baby? He seems to have got off scot-free while Lawal faces the death penalty. The best interests of the child have been totally negated in this case - just to fulfil an archaic law that does not add value to a culture of human rights." The LSSA argued in a statement that the stoning set a terrible precedent for other countries to allow various religious groups to call for the death penalty or amputation where people were accused of transgressions.