International records / OpenAlex research

A Study of the Court Systems of Northern Nigeria with a Proposal for the Creation of Lower Sharia Courts in Some Northern States

The British took over Northern Nigeria in 1900. Early enactments included statutes establishing two types of courts. “English” courts, of which there were only a few, primarily applied “English” law to “non-natives”; over the course of a century they have developed into today’s state High Courts and Magistrate Courts, plus federal High and appellate courts. On the other hand, “Native Courts”, of which there were many scattered across the North, primarily applied “the native law and custom prevailing in the area of the jurisdiction of the court”, to natives. “Native law and custom” was defined …