Ewi in Council has ordered the muslin community in Ekiti State to desolve and suspend the Shari’ah Arbitration Panel in Ekiti inaugurated recently with immediate effect.
Despite the wide range of criticism and agitations, the Independent Shari’ah Arbitration Panel in Ekiti State held its inaugural public sitting in Ado Ekiti, adjudicating on two marriage-related disputes.
The panel, presided over by three Kadhis Imam Abdullahi Abdul-Mutolib, Imam Abdulraheem Junaid-Bamigbola, and Dr. Ibrahim Aminullahi-Ogunrinde is aimed at providing arbitration based on Islamic jurisprudence.
At a meeting with Islamic leaders, led by the President League of Imam and Alfas in Southwest, Edo and Delta, Alhaji Jamiu Kewulere the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Adeyemo Adejugbe said the panel was unconstitutional and not part of Ado culture.
He added that the panel was constituted at the wrong time considering the tension in the country adding that action was capable of causing crisis in the state.
In his justification, Alhaji Sheik Jamiu Kewulere confirmed the existence of the committee, saying it was basically instituted to resolve issues among couples and the distribution of will among children.
He noted that the panel does not adopt the practice of the sharia law known to people, but to resolve issues and instill peace among couples under the Islamic religion.
“We don’t have problems with people with other religion, if they want to scatter here, we will never agree to it.
“All we want here in Ekiti is peace, we don’t want anything else apart from that.We made a committee to settle disputes among couples in the Islamic religion.
“We don’t discriminate in any form, we don’t have hatred towards people. Sharia is not what as people say it, for you to summon us, it’s also sharia. We are using it to resolve issues.
“The reason for this sharia is the issue of inheritance (distribution of will) and marriage, it’s very common among we Muslims. We want to be using it to settle it among ourselves to avoid escalation of violence”.
However, the Monarch tasked the Chief Imam to cancel the panel with immediate effect for the welfare of Ekiti residents.
