DATE=2/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=NIGERIA VIOLENCE (L)
NUMBER=2-259684
BYLINE=JOHN PITMAN
DATELINE=ABIDJAN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Nigeria, three states have agreed to
abandon their experiment with Sharia law, and to
reinstate Nigeria's civil code as the only law within
their borders. The move came Tuesday after another
round of sectarian violence between Christians and
Muslims claimed dozens of lives in the southeastern
part of the country. V-O-A's John Pitman has details
from our West Africa bureau.
TEXT: Governors from the three states that had
introduced Islamic law, or Sharia, said on Tuesday
that they would repeal it in the interests of peace.
The governors' decision was taken during an emergency
meeting with Nigeria's president Olusegun Obasanjo,
who had earlier warned that violence sparked by the
introduction of Sharia could threaten the integrity of
the Nigerian state.
The governors' decision to repeal Sharia came after
another round of bloodletting between Christians and
Muslims, this time in the southeastern city of Aba.
According to eyewitness reports from Aba, dozens of
people have been killed in two days of fighting
between Muslims and Christians.
A six p.m.-to-noon curfew has been imposed on Aba,
which lies about 50-kilometers north of the oil-
producing city of Port Harcourt.
Witnesses say Christians in Aba appear to have
targeted members of the Hausa ethnic group, who are
mostly Muslim, in retaliation for several days of
deadly violence last week in the northern city of
Kaduna.
That violence claimed hundreds of lives and was
sparked by the debate over the constitutionality of
introducing Sharia law at the state level.
President Obasanjo is scheduled to address the nation
Wednesday night (Eds note: sked for 2200 UTC) to
discuss the Sharia controversy and the violence that
accompanied its limited introduction.
/// REST OPTIONAL ///
So far, it remains unclear how far Tuesday's decision
to repeal Sharia will go towards healing the rift
between Nigeria's Christian and Muslim communities,
especially in the north.
Reports from Kaduna and other areas affected by
sectarian violence say despite the government's
efforts to resolve the controversy, thousands of
civilians are on the move, seeking shelter in areas
where their respective religious groups are in the
majority. (Signed)
NEB/jp/gm
29-Feb-2000 17:01 PM EDT (29-Feb-2000 2201 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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