Nigeria vows to block executions by stoning

Nigeria has vowed to block Islamic courts from carrying out any executions by stoning.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs has promised to hold the line against Shariah sentences in northern states that have provoked international protests and boycott threats.

The assurance by Dubem Onyia represents the government's sharpest statement yet on Muslim court rulings condemning at least four people to stoning for adultery or rape.

"Nobody will ever be stoned as a result of Shariah law. Nobody," Mr Onyia said.

He spoke at a news conference on Nigeria's preparations for the Miss World pageant, facing a boycott by a growing number of contestants over the stoning sentence handed a Nigerian woman in March.

A northern Islamic court condemned Amina Lawal, a 31-year-old single mother, for having sex outside marriage.

A Shariah high court rejected Lawal's appeal in August. She has gone into hiding while awaiting a second appeal by a higher Islamic court.

"There is no way the federal courts can sustain that judgment," Mr Onyia said.

But Mr Onyia said the government would not force Islamic court systems in a dozen predominantly Muslim northern states to change their laws.

Instead, he said, the cases would be overturned individually in appeals before federal courts.