DATE=9/25/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=NIGERIA/STONING (S)

NUMBER=2-307888

BYLINE=SARAH SIMPSON

DATELINE=ABIDJAN

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A Nigerian woman sentenced to death by stoning for having a child out of wedlock has won her appeal. Her case was a high-profile test for the strict Islamic laws that have been adopted in the north of the country. Sarah Simpson reports from V-O-A's west Africa bureau in Abidjan.

TEXT: The 31-year-old village woman, Amina Lawal, needed two appeals and the help of national women's groups to overturn the decision of the Islamic Sharia courts.

In March 2002, Ms. Lawal was found guilty of adultery, after giving birth to her daughter Wasila two years after she was divorced from her husband.

The case attracted international attention to the northern Nigerian town of Katsina. Human rights groups condemned the verdict and, in particular, the punishment, which was to have been death by stoning.

Ms. Lawal's case has been the highest-profile case before the new religious courts. Nigeria, a federal republic, has differing laws in each state. Reflecting the religious differences in the country, the Muslim northern states have adopted strict Islamic, or Sharia, law since Nigeria's return to civilian rule in 1999. (SIGNED)

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