# Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria: Context and Application

> Since 2000, twelve northern Nigerian states have added criminal law to the jurisdiction of Sharia courts, applying only to Muslims. Sharia personal-status law — covering marriage, inheritance, and family matters — has operated continuously in the region since long before that date. The extension to criminal law, its constitutional basis, and its human-rights record remain subjects of active, unresolved debate among Nigerian officials, lawyers, and rights organizations.

**Category:** Law & Justice · **Updated:** 2026-07-26 19:36:35 · **Canonical:** https://nigeriastuff.org/a/sharia-in-northern-nigeria

## Key facts
- **States with Sharia criminal codes:** 12 — Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Kebbi, Jigawa, Niger, Yobe, Gombe
- **First adopter:** Zamfara State — law effective 27 January 2000
- **Applies to:** Muslims only, by state legislation
- **Personal-status Sharia:** Operated continuously in the region since well before the colonial period, predating the 2000 criminal codes
- **Offence categories:** Hudud (fixed), qisas/diya (retaliation or compensation), ta'zir (judicial discretion)
- **Appeal route:** Lower/upper Sharia courts → state Sharia Court of Appeal → Court of Appeal → Supreme Court
- **Notable overturned sentences:** Safiya Husseini (Sokoto) and Amina Lawal (Katsina); both death-by-stoning convictions reversed on appeal

## Sources
- "Political Shari'a"? Human Rights and Islamic Law in Northern Nigeria — Human Rights Watch, Vol. 16, No. 9(A) (https://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/nigeria0904/nigeria0904.pdf)
- Constitution of Nigeria (2011 consolidation), Section 6 — Judicial powers — Constitute Project (Comparative Constitutions Project) (https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Nigeria_2011)
- Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Updated with the 1st–5th Alterations), Sections 4, 6, 42, 260–279 — Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) (https://placng.org/i/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Constitution-of-the-Federal-Republic-of-Nigeria-1999-Updated.pdf)

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