Woman appeals against death-by-stoning sentence

An Islamic court in northern Nigeria will hear an appeal today from a 25-year-old woman who was sentenced to death by stoning for committing adultery.

Daso Adamu was found guilty of adultery in September by a court in Nigeria’s Bauchi state. She was initially imprisoned along with her baby of less than six months before being released on bail in last month.

Adamu’s lawyer, Abdullahi Suleiman, said he would appeal the case in Ningi village on the basis that the father of her child was a former husband she divorced in 2001.

He argued that Islamic Shariah law theoretically allows for five years between conception and giving birth, and that the conception could legally be considered as having taken place under her former marriage.

Suleiman also said Adamu had initially confessed to the crime of adultery only because the former husband had made it a condition of his remarrying her. The lawyer said he expected the court to make its judgment within a week.

If the appeal fails, the case can be re-appealed to higher courts.

The introduction of strict Islamic law in a dozen northern states in 1999-2000 heightened ethnic and religious tensions across the country, triggering violent clashes between Christians and Muslims that left thousands dead.

President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised harsh sentences under Islamic law - including amputation of limbs for stealing and death by stoning – but has not banned them because states are empowered to make laws in Nigeria’s federal system.

No death by stoning sentence has been carried out in Nigeria.