The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III has openly rejected a bill seeking equal right to inheritance between men and women.
The Sultan on Tuesday voiced his concerns against the bill which he described as a total anomaly.
Imploring the Senate to reject the bill, the sultan noted that the bill was against the Islamic belief and religion.
The bill as proposed by the senate seeks equal right of inheritance for male and female children and also proposes to entrust the custody of children to the widow unless the decision jeopardizes the welfare of the children.
In reaction to the bill which further proposes that widows should have a right to remarry after the demise of their spouse, the Sultan said: “Our religion is our total way of life; therefore, we will not accept any move to change what Allah permitted us to do.
“Islam is a peaceful religion; we have been living peacefully with Christians and followers of other religions in this country. Therefore, we should be allowed to perform our religion effectively.”
The Sultan further called on the senate to discard the bill as it is against the basic religious belief.
