The severe penalties given to lesser offenses under Sharia penal laws have raised concern about their violation of rights that are protected by international human rights treaties. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Nigeria is a party, allows the death penalty if it is carried out in a way that causes the least suffering and only in the cases of serious crimes that intentionally cause lethal consequences. Under Sharia law, adultery is punished by death by stoning, which violates both conditions set forth by the ICCPR.