Sharia Group for Death Penalty

The Bauchi State Sharia Commission has urged President Olusegun Obasanjo to drop, in the interest of Muslims, his plans to abrogate capital punishment in the country.

The commission said in a statement given to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the weekend in Bauchi that the proposed abrogation was not only an attempt to frustrate the implementation of Sharia but also an affront to Islam.

It said it would explore all peaceful means to protest the Federal Government's intention, but warned that where such means failed, it would not hesitate to mobilise the Muslim Ummah against the proposal.

In a related development, a renowned Islamic scholar in the state, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, has described the move as an open invitation to chaos, saying such should not be allowed to sail through at the National Assembly.

He said that those calling for the abrogation of capital punishment might become the first victims of the move, as armed robbers would not spare them.

"Even with capital punishment enforced, many innocent people are being killed daily; what would happen in the absence of the law?" the Islamic scholar asked.

He, urged the Federal Government to desist from actions capable of igniting crisis in the country.