NigeriaNG

Article 277 — Jurisdiction

Article
277
Chapter
CHAPTER VII — The Judicature
Index row title
Jurisdiction
Source document
nigerian constitution
Provision ID
b5828070-8cc1-493c-8073-578822ea7c1b

283 words

Verbatim text

(1) The Sharia Court of Appeal of a State shall, in addition to such other jurisdiction as may be conferred upon it by the law of the State, exercise such appellate and supervisory jurisdiction in civil proceedings involving questions of Islamic personal law which the court is competent to decide in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, the Sharia Court of Appeal shall be competent to decide - (a) any question of Islamic personal law regarding a marriage concluded in accordance with that law, including a question relating to the validity or dissolution of such a marriage or a question that depends on such a marriage and relating to family relationship or the guardianship of an infant; (b) where all the parties to the proceedings are muslims, any question of Islamic personal law regarding a marriage, including the validity or dissolution of that marriage, or regarding family relationship, a foundling or the guardianship of an infant; The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Updated with the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Alterations(c) any question of Islamic personal law regarding a wakf, gift, will or succession where the endower, donor, testator or deceased person is a muslim; (d) any question of Islamic personal law regarding an infant, prodigal or person of unsound mind who is a muslim or the maintenance or the guardianship of a muslim who is physically or mentally infirm; or (e) where all the parties to the proceedings, being muslims, have requested the court that hears the case in the first instance to determine that case in accordance with Islamic personal law, any other question.

What this means

  • The index files this text under article 277 of the Constitution of Nigeria.
  • The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER VII — The Judicature”.
  • The row is titled “Jurisdiction”.
  • The passage runs to about 283 words.

No rights vocabulary from our fixed word list appears in this passage, so no plain-language reading is offered for it.

This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.

How to cite this

Constitution of Nigeria, article 277 (“Jurisdiction”), Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/b5828070-8cc1-493c-8073-578822ea7c1b (accessed 25 October 2026).

Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/b5828070-8cc1-493c-8073-578822ea7c1b

Accessed 25 October 2026.

Link to the canonical URL above, not to a #section-… fragment on the jurisdiction page — the fragment is a scroll position, this URL is the provision.

Machine-readable versions