FACT-CHECK: Kano State denies news of Sharia law that bans women from driving

The Kano state government of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has denied the news that the state had planned to implement a sharia law that bans women from driving cars.

In a press release made available to 9News Nigeria, the Kano state commissioner for information, Muhammad Garba stated that such news is false and baseless.

He said that the state has never planned to implement such a law that bans women from driving. He cited Saudi Arabia which is the major source of Sharia law and said that even Saudi Arabia has lifted such a ban and now allows women to drive cars.

There have been unconfirmed reports making the rounds on social media claiming that the Kano state government has in collaboration with the state’s Council of Ulama concluded plans to send a bill that will ban women from driving to the house of assembly.

But the Kano state commissioner for information said that such unfounded and baseless news reports should not be taken seriously as the state had never thought of such a bill.

Taking to his social media timeline, Muhammad Garba said: “I, Abdullah Usman Umar Gadon Kaya, strongly say that this is a piece of fake news. I don’t have any hands in it. It’s the act of enemies who want to crack peace in our dear state (Kano) and Nigeria at large,”

“He said the story, which could not be traced to any credible source, was nothing but the imaginary thinking of the authors,” the statement reads.

“The trending story lacks any credibility and that is why it is wholly attributed to a source that cannot be substantiated.

“Malam Garba pointed out that if at all there was such a plan, the state government does not have to be involved in any secretive meeting to decide on a critical issue that has to do with its teeming populace.

“The commissioner stated further that even Saudi Arabia which for decades had laws that sanctioned women from driving has, after all, lifted the ban in 2018.”

Similarly, one of the state’s Council of Ulama scholars mentioned and linked to the purported bill that will ban women from driving, Abdullah Kaya has distanced himself from such a move thereby described the story as “fake news”.