Legislator Decries Sharia Court's Involvement in Forcible Marriage of Christian Girl

Laleye Dipo in Minna
A federal legislator has condemned the involvement of a Minna Sharia Court in the forcible marriage of a Christian girl to a Muslim describing the action of the court as an “abuse of judicial process”.
Senator David Umaru, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, said the “whole incident is a bitter reminder of the continued denial of Christians in the state free access to justice and fair hearing in customary matters”.
Umaru, who made the remarks while addressing the youth wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State chapter in Minna on Sunday, said: “The continued existence of only sharia courts in the villages has continued to constitute gross violation of the fundamental human rights of Christian individuals in the state.”
He therefore called on the state government “to urgently redress the judicial imbalance with the establishment of customary courts in the 25 local government areas of the state”.
Details later…