Mother appeals death by stoning sentence

SINGLE mother Amina Lawal has launched an appeal against an adultery conviction that could see her become the first Nigerian to be stoned to death since the return of Islamic law.

The 31-year-old housewife has become an international symbol of the controversy surrounding the reintroduction in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north of the strict Sharia criminal law code. Yesterday, she was back in the spotlight once again, cradling her baby daughter Wasila in Katsina State’s Sharia Appeal Court before a five-strong bench of senior judges.

“This case involves life and has been prolonged, so we don’t have time for more delays,” Katsina’s top Islamic legal authority, Grand Khadi Aminu Ibrahim, told the packed courtroom.

“It’s good that Amina should know her fate. She will be either stoned or acquitted. It’s not right to keep her in suspense for so long,” he added.

Under Sharia, a divorced person who has sex before he or she remarries can be found guilty of adultery, and thus face death.

Last year Lawal was denounced by fellow villagers in the Katsina farming community of Kurami after she gave birth to Wasila more than two years after splitting from her husband. She was convicted in March last year and lost her first appeal in August. Her fate inspired protests around the world.

Yesterday, however, defence counsel Aliyu Musa Yawuri focussed on challenging her conviction under the terms of Sharia, not on fighting the controversial legal system itself.

He argued that the village court which convicted her had not properly explained the offence or its consequences before her alleged confession.

He also said the baby had been conceived before Sharia law was formally enacted in Katsina state. The defence also argued that, under Islamic law, the pregnancy could have been the result of a so-called “sleeping embryo”.

“Amina gave birth within two years of divorce, so the presumption is that the child belongs to her former husband,” he said, arguing that Sharia recognises that an embryo can lie dormant for up to five years.

Amina sat impassively through most of the proceedings. But she appeared close to tears when press photographers crowded in, and family members said the young Muslim woman was under severe stress.

“Amina is deeply worried. She’s anxious to see the end of this case so that she can marry and have a normal life,” said her uncle, 50-year-old farmer Magaji Liman.

Lawal’s case has become an embarrassment for Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has tried to reassure foreign protesters without offending Nigerian Muslims.

The court said it would issue a judgment on September 25.