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Crime and Justice in Postcolonial Nigeria: The Justifications and Challenges of Islamic Law of Shari'ah

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2015

Ogechi E. Anyanwu
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Abstract

Nowhere, in recent times, has the question of the Islamic Law of Shari’ah produced such a crescendo of concern, posed such a challenge to the prevailing justice system, as in Nigeria. In "modern" societies, the criminal justice system not only produces social solidarity by reaffirming the society's bond and its adherence to certain norms, but also serves to legitimize the political authority of the state. In the postcolonial pluralistic society of Nigeria, the criminal justice system has been fundamentally influenced by the ascendancy of Western penology. During the era of European colonization of Africa, existing systems of justice were suppressed; in Nigeria's case, by the British imperial power. Predictably, the British system of justice clashed with the indigenous systems. Nowhere is this historical conflict more manifest than in the ongoing challenge Shari’a has posed to the Nigerian state. Shari’ah was an incendiary issue during the colonial period (1900-60) in Nigeria, and has continued to challenge the classical view of the modern state ever since. This challenge has reshaped Nigeria's postcolonial criminal justice system. Here religion, politics, and society intersect, shedding light on the arrival, reactions, and crises of modernity, themes that run through the Shari’ah controversy like interwoven threads.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Law and Religion , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , 2006 , pp. 315 - 347
Copyright
Copyright © Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University 2005

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