Penal Code With Shariah Penal Code

The essay begins with a brief history of the penal law of the northern states of Nigeria, from the colonial period up to 1999/2000, when twelve northern states began their programmes of sharia implementation. The new Sharia Penal Codes enacted at that time are then described and discussed. Differences between them and the Penal Code of 1960, and variations among the Sharia Penal Codes themselves, are analysed. The essay concludes with a discussion of the arguments for and against the project to harmonise the Sharia Penal Codes undertaken by the Centre for Islamic Legal Studies at Ahmadu Bello University.