Sharia in Nima-Maamobi Neighborhoods

At sundown a young man chats with a young lady in an alley at Nima 441, a suburb of Accra, and some well-built men pounce on the two and beat them up mercilessly. They are implementing their version of Islamic penal code, Sharia. This situation is becoming common in Nima-Mamobi neighbourhoods.

The predominantly Islamic communities at Nima and Mamobi are witnessing a kind of revolution that some religious clerics believe will bring about sanity and restore moral rectitude and the sanctity of religion, but others feel that the arbitrary use of power and brute force is likely to create social disorder and upheaval.

The 'Sharia police' who the residents refer to as Isakaba, a name adopted from the title of a Nigerian movie with similar characters, are members of hunting groups in some neighbourhoods of Nima and Mamobi.

They have constituted themselves into a volunteer group to enforce law and order according to the dictates of their leaders.

They are operating outside established order and do not take instructions from any community or religious leader.

The leaders who are known to be hardened criminals are merciless and administer instant justice whenever a case is reported to them. They usually prejudge cases before inviting suspects for questioning and often subject people reported to them to corporal punishment if the person resists arrest. They are above the law and are often seen firing weapons during their operations.

Apart from dealing with those who engage in premarital sex, they act as debt collectors and terrorise people reported to them into paying their debt instantly or facing the consequencs. They also avenge offences allegedly committed against any member of their group.

The Isakaba also act as land guards in various locations in and outside Accra and are often hired at a fee to perform such assignments.

They engage in gun battles whenever a feud develops and often threaten residents with their weapons, which are locally made guns and sophisticated small arms.

Last week, the group went into action at Nima 441 when some members went to collect debts. They raided the house in commando-style in the morning and when their victim resisted arrest they threatened to handcuff and send him to their stronghold but some members of the household sympathised with the victim and paid the ?1 million debt.

The demonstration against the police at Nima a few weeks ago has made it difficult for the people to maintain law and order in the neigbourhood. As a result the so-called Sharia enforcers are having a field day and are abusing the rights of the residents.

Some residents that The Accra Mail interviewed say they feel insecure because most of the boys that have joined the Isakaba are known criminals who are using force to exploit the residents.

They believe that the police who have been trained to maintain civil order are best suited for such assignments and therefore appealed to the police to be more involved in maintaining civil order.