Nigeria urged to change laws as more women face death

Date: 28/03/02

By Martin Banks and Laurence Frost

THE Nigerian government is facing mounting EU pressure to amend laws in Muslim areas which allow savage sentences such as stoning, amputation and flogging.

Although one woman, Safiya Huseini, won an appeal on Monday against a court ruling that she be stoned to death for adultery, two others now face the same punishment.

One of the pair, Amina Lawal, has 30 days to appeal against her sentence. The Sharia court which imposed it has delayed her execution for eight months to allow her to finish breast-feeding her daughter.

The issue of Islamic law has provoked a deep constitutional crisis in Nigeria.

Huseini won her case after a campaign for clemency spearheaded by Scottish MEP John Corrie.

'We welcome the outcome of Safiya's appeal but the latest court decision is obviously cause for some concern,' said the European People's Party member.

Of particular concern to MEPs and human rights organisations is the increasing unanimity among northern political leaders over the issue of Sharia punishments.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, a devout Christian, has said he would prefer more humane punishments to be handed down by the Sharia legal system.

Safiya Huseini won her appeal on a technicality. The judge, Mohammed Tambari-Uthman, said that because the alleged adultery had taken place before it became a criminal offence under Islamic law, Huseini's case should be dismissed.

Irish MEP Dana Scallon, who launched an email campaign against Huseini's death sentence, welcomed her acquittal on appeal.

'I'm absolutely delighted with the result, but really we can't let it rest there because it's ongoing,' she said.

The former singer added that eight children were still awaiting hand amputations - the Sharia punishment for stealing - while, in Nigeria's Sokoto state, two more women were due to be stoned to death for adultery and a third was serving a prison sentence for 'fornication'.

'We'll continue to highlight the problem of these very harsh punishments under Sharia law,' said Scallon.

The Nigerian government is facing mounting EU pressure to amend laws in Muslim areas which allow sentences such as stoning, amputation and flogging.