People's Democratic Party (Nigeria) to five years in prison. The party is a moderate advocate of state-autonomy and religious freedom for the Nigerian provinces. In the year 2000 the introduction of Islamic law in some states in Northern Nigeria triggered sectarian violence in Kaduna and Abia states. The PDP-led federal government refused to bow to pressure from the southern, predominantly Christian states to repeal the law, and instead opted for a compromise where Islamic law would only apply to Muslims. In the 2015 elections, the incumbent president and PDP presidential nominee, Goodluck Jonathan, was defeated by General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress
Constitution of Nigeria British order in council so as to come into force immediately upon independence, on 1 October 1960. Under this constitution Nigeria retained Queen Elizabeth II as titular head of state. Independent Nigeria's second constitution established the country as a federal republic. It came into force on 1 October 1963 (Nigeria's third anniversary as an independent nation). The 1963 constitution, which was based on the Westminster system, continued in operation until a military coup in 1966 overthrew Nigeria's democratic institutions. The 1979 constitution, which brought in the Second Republic, abandoned the Westminster system in favour of an American-style presidential system, with