By Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti
As reactions continue to trail the recent inauguration of the Independent Shari’a Arbitration Panel in Ekiti State, a pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, the Yoruba Regional Alliance (YRA), staged a street protest to express their displeasure over the move.
The protesters, who were mainly youths comprising men and women, gathered early Tuesday morning at the popular Adebayo Road in Ado-Ekiti. Chanting solidarity songs, they carried placards with inscriptions such as “No to Sharia in Yorubaland,” “Sharia Will Cause War,” and “Sharia is a Constitutional Blunder.”
The protest was closely monitored by the police and officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to ensure the free flow of traffic. The demonstrators later moved to Fajuyi Park in the town center, where their leaders addressed other members of the group and journalists.
However, the protest was disrupted by a detachment of police officers from the Ekiti State Police Command, who subsequently invited the protesters for dialogue.
Speaking to journalists during the protest, the group’s leader, identified as Opeoluwa Akinola, alleged that the attempt to introduce Shari’a into Yorubaland was designed to create chaos and disharmony among the Yoruba people. He emphasized that the practice does not align with Yoruba values.
Akinola noted that the Yoruba people, regardless of their religious affiliations, have coexisted peacefully for generations without the Shari’a penal code. He questioned the necessity of introducing Shari’a law when the existing legal system in Yorubaland is already effective.
In a separate interview, the chairman of the Yoruba Nation Religious Council (YONAREC), Comrade Oluwafemi Edafemi, and other members of the group expressed strong opposition to the introduction of the Islamic legal system in Yorubaland.
They maintained that such a move would undermine the region’s unity and called on stakeholders to prevent any further attempts to introduce Shari’a in the area.