A ninth northern Nigerian state on Friday declared Islamic law, banning alcohol and setting out punishments for violations of strict social codes, officials said.
Kebbi State Governor Adamu Aliero told a ceremony in the state capital, Birnin Kebbi, that the Islamic law code, known as the Sharia, would come into immediate effect, an official in his office told AFP by telephone.
Kebbi is the latest of nine northern states to declare Sharia since the country returned to civilian rule last year.
The introduction of the code is fiercely opposed by Christians and Sharia punishments have been criticized by President Olusegun Obasanjo as unconstitutional -- KANO (AFP)
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