No Sharia court, arbitration panel in Ekiti judicial structure, says commissioner 

The Ekiti government says there is no provision for a Sharia court or arbitration panel in the state’s judicial structure.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Dayo Apata, the attorney-general and commissioner for justice in Ekiti, said, “arbitration and/or mediation issues are quasi-judicial matters, which are regulated by law” in the state.

Apata was reacting to reports about an independent Sharia arbitration panel sitting to resolve marriage disputes in Ekiti.

Similar reports sparked a public outcry in December 2024 following an announcement by the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria to “establish a sharia court” in Oyo state and its environs.

But the council later said it planned to inaugurate an independent Sharia arbitration panel, not a court.

Checks by TheCable showed that a Sharia arbitration panel was inaugurated in Ekiti state in October 2024.

In his reaction, the Ekiti commissioner for justice said existing courts in the state—customary court, customary court of appeal, and high courts—have been handling issues relating to Islamic, Christian, and traditional marriages, including inheritance matters, without any rancour or agitation.

“The Sharia Courts in the north are equivalent to the Customary Courts in the Southern part of Nigeria, wherein the appeals therefrom also goes to the Sharia Court of Appeal,” the statement reads.

“The state similarly has Customary Courts that hear customary cases, as well as the Customary Court of Appeal that hears appeals from the Customary Courts.”

Apata said customary courts and customary courts of appeal can “effectively” cater to customary issues arising from marriages of all faiths, “especially the ones that were not backed up by the statutory marriages, which can only be dissolved by the state’s high courts throughout Nigeria”.

He noted that the issue of religion must be handled with utmost care and cautioned against activities or inciting statements that could negatively affect peace in the state.

The commissioner advised religious leaders to be wary and avoid being used as tools by politicians, adding that the state government would not hesitate to invoke the full weight of the law to protect Nigeria’s Constitution and maintain peaceful co-existence in Ekiti.