Abakaliki — President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ebonyi State, Rt. Rev. Benson Onyeibor, has hailed the recent decision of the Sharia Appeal Court judges in Sokoto for acquitting Safiya Hassan who was earlier condemned to death by stoning for adultary by a lower sharia court.

Onyeibr who spoke with newsmen in Abakaliki yesterday stated that "I praise the Sharia judges for their courage. They are wise enough to have listened to world opinion. But it makes me feel that Sharia could have another face, it is flexible."

He described the death sentence earlier passed on Miss Hassan as an intimidation of womenfolk, as according to him, the male accomplice who impregnated her was let off the hook.

Onyeibor remarked that his concern was primary "not because a group of people decided to fashion out a code of ethics to govern themselves, but such a code or codes should not be forced on the people."

"If a group of people have a code of ethics or law, they should live by it and not apply it to others. And the rule should not make any distinction. If their religion forbids fornication, is it restricted to women alone?" he lamented.