Death by stoning remains barbaric reality in Nigeria

Although an Islamic appeals court in the western African nation of Nigeria has saved a single mother from a death sentence that would have involved the barbaric practice of stoning, the case is a vivid reminder of the extremism of theocratic government.
Since 1999, 12 predominantly Muslim northern states in Nigeria have adopted strict Islamic law, or Shariah, and the result has been the loss of human rights, especially for women.
Last year, Amina Lawal, then 31, was convicted of having sex outside marriage and was sentenced to death by stoning. Nothing was done to the man. Lawal, a single mother, went into hiding in August after a Shariah appeals court upheld the original judgment.
And while officials of the civilian government insisted they would not permit any stoning judgments to be carried out, they refused to intervene directly in the Islamic court system that handed down the punishment.
The case attracted world attention and the sentence drew sharp criticism from international rights organizations. World leaders, including Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, called for Lawal to be spared, and last week Brazil offered her asylum.
This week, a five-judge panel rejected the sentence against Lawal, but their reasons for overturning the original verdict suggest that the practice of stoning remains a part of the Islamic legal system.
Procedural errors
The judges said the woman was not caught in the act of adultery and was not given "ample opportunity to defend herself." They also said there were procedural errors made by the lower court, including that only one judge was present at the initial conviction, instead of the three as required by Islamic law.
But the Katsina State Shariah Court -- its verdict is final -- said nothing about the method by which Lawal would have been put to death. By not condemning stoning, the judges were, in fact, upholding its use. And that's troubling.
It's just a matter of time before that male-dominated society accuses some other woman of adultery, and given the Lawal experience the courts will be extra careful to ensure that every tenet of Islamic law is followed. After all, what's the point in having a theocratic government if you can't be guided by the literal reading of the holy writings?
Indeed, Nigeria, an oil-rich African nation, is on economic quicksand because of the absence of responsible governance. The takeover of regions of the country by religious zealots is not only problematic for the central government, but is a barrier to such things as human rights, ethnic and religious equality and the advancement of education and health care.
In other words, the theocratic rulers will not permit a free society.
The United Nations, now dominated by Third World countries that are quick to criticize western societies, must be heard on the inhumane practice of death by stoning. It must make it clear that the international community will not sit silently when a bunch of men with a perverted view of the world do harm in the name of religion.