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A trader based in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has cried out alleging that a Sharia Court of Appeal in the city unlawfully seized and auctioned one of his shops to settle a debt owed by one of his tenants.
The unnamed man who said he is a Christian and has never been to a Sharia Court, made the allegations in a video that has been trending since Thursday. He lamented that even though the case had nothing to do with him and he was not even invited during the trial, the court acted on a case brought by someone claiming the shop occupant was indebted to them.
He explained that he had no case with the court and was shocked to be told that his property, which he built in 2012, was already sold despite the original documents still with him.
In the video which has been generating widespread outrage amid concerns on religious bias and violations of the trader’s constitutional rights, the man disclosed that he was only made aware that his shop had been auctioned when officials of the court arrived at the premises to carry out the orders.
He narrated that he built the four shops in 2012 and gave one out for rent, but was shocked when one day, some people came claiming to be officials of the Shariah Court of Appeal, informing him that the ship occupied by his tenant had been auctioned and sold.
“They said they came from the Sharia Court of Appeal chief litigation, and the chief registrar has auctioned my shop,” the man said in the video.
“I told them that I don’t have any case with them; why should they auction my shop?” he asked.
The aggrieved man explained that the dispute involved one of his tenants who allegedly owed debt but insisted that the goods inside the shop and his legal documents were ignored by court officials.
The video has been eliciting diverging comments on social media with some legal analysts arguing that the court has acted beyond its powers as Sharia courts are constitutionally restricted to Islamic personal law matters between consenting Muslims.
An analyst said the move was a clear overreach of Sharia Court jurisdiction which contradicts Nigeria’s secular constitutional framework.
The post ABUJA: Christian trader cries out, accuses Shari’a Court of selling his shop to settle tenant’s debt appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.
