Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has urged leaders in Nigeria’s South-West region to support the establishment of Sharia panels. He believes these panels can contribute to peace and religious understanding in the region.
Oloyede, who also serves as the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, shared his views during an interview on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television. He noted that there is widespread misunderstanding about Sharia panels, even though they have been present in the South-West for many years.
He said, “I believe that Nigeria is great, and Nigeria will continue to be great, but it requires a lot of rethinking. Recently, people have been talking about Sharia panels in the South-West, and I was just smiling; I was smiling that I had never seen that level of ignorance being displayed.”
Oloyede pointed out that a PhD thesis on Sharia panels in Oyo State was completed in 2007, proving that such panels have existed for a long time. He noted that the academic who researched the topic is now a professor at the University of Ibadan.
Speaking on religious tolerance, the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin noted that South-West Muslims often struggle to find legal solutions that align with their faith.
He explained that Christian marriages conducted in churches receive legal recognition, allowing couples to settle disputes in government-funded high courts. However, Muslims who marry under Islamic law do not have the same access to faith-based legal resolutions.
He said, “If there is a dispute in my marriage, where do I go? I don’t have the opportunity because I married according to Islamic rites; I will have to go to customary court where the customary judge knows next to nothing about my faith, about the laws on the basis on which we got married. He would now use customary law to determine Islamic marriage, and the Constitution of Nigeria allows it to say where the state of assembly allows it, there should be Sharia Courts of Appeal.”
Oloyede noted that Sharia Courts of Appeal already exist in many northern states, and their presence in the South-West would provide a fairer system for Muslims seeking legal resolution in accordance with their faith.
In recent weeks, discussions about Sharia panels in the South-West have sparked controversy. While Muslim leaders defend their right to establish these panels, some non-Muslim groups have raised concerns about their potential impact.
