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11 Nnamdi Azikiwe U. J. Int'l L. & Juris. 1 (2020)

handle is hein.journals/naujilj11 and id is 1 raw text is: OBA & ISMAEL: Revisiting The Causes Of Delay In The Adjudication Of Islamic Personal Law Cases In Nigerian Jurisprudence REVISITING THE CAUSES OF DELAY IN THE ADJUDICATION OF ISLAMIC PERSONAL LAW CASES IN NIGERIAN JURISPRUDENCE * Abstract The Nigerian legal system consists of English-style courts, Islamic courts and customary courts. The Islamic courts do not have exclusive jurisdiction in Islamic law matters as the jurisdiction of the English-style courts also extend to Islamic law matters. Before 1979, the Sharia Court of Appeal of the defunct northern Nigeria was the highest appellate court for Islamic law cases in northern Nigeria. The defunct 1979 Constitution created appeal from the Supreme Court of Appeal of the States to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court, and allowed lawyers into Islamic courts. While English-style courts are generally notorious for delay in the disposal of cases, Islamic courts are known for speedy dispensation ofjustice. The developments introduced by the 1979 Constitution into the administration of Islamic law in the country have brought many factors that are now occasioning delays, and often, inordinate delays, into the final disposal of Islamic cases in northern Nigeria. The paper, using the case study method identifies the causes of delay in the adjudication of Islamic personal law cases in both Islamic and English-style courts in Nigeria with particular reference to northern Nigeria. The paper suggests ways of overcoming the challenges responsible for these delays. Keywords: Courts, Delay, Adjudication, Cases, Pluralism, Nigeria 1. Introduction The Nigerian legal system is pluralistic with the common law, Islamic law and customary law as the major legal traditions in the country.1 This pluralism is reflected in the judiciary which consists of three types of courts, namely English-style courts, Islamic courts and customary courts that are traceable to these three legal traditions respectively. However, State law accommodates Islamic law and customary law not as autonomous legal systems but legal systems whose norms are legally enforceable by State courts only to the extent permitted by the State. Nigerian courts enforce only Islamic and customary law norms that are not (a) unconstitutional,2 (b) contrary to public policy,3 (c) incompatible with any statute in force,4 and (d) repugnant to equity, natural justice and good conscience.' Islamic courts (namely, area courts, * A. A. Oba Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. E-mail: obailorin@yahoo.com & I. S. Ismael; Reader, Department of Islamic Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria. E-mail: lawyerismael@yahoo.com, Phone No.: +234 (0)8035010673 i' A revised version of the paper read at the International Conference on African Courts: Actors, Institutional Developments and Governance Workshop (Funded by the DFG and Point Sud), held at the LASDEL Niamey, Niger December 4-10, 2014. The authors are grateful to the workshop participants for their useful comments on the paper during and after the workshop. 1 See generally A. A. Oba, 'Harmonisation of Shari'ah, Common Law and Customary Law in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects' (2008) 35 JMCL, 119-145. 2 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, s. 1(3). 3 Evidence Act 2011, s. 14. 4 See the various High Court Laws of the states, for example High Court Law, Cap. H2, Laws of Kwara State, s.34 (1). 5 Ibid. Page I 1

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