Amid growing controversy over the staging of the Miss World beauty pageant in Nigeria, the government has made it clear that it will if necessary intervene to save the life of a woman sentenced to death by stoning under Islamic law.
A statement issued by junior foreign minister Dubem Onyia said that the country's constitution would be used to thwart any negative ruling in the case of Amina Lawal.
She lost her appeal against a conviction for adultery in August and is now taking her case to a higher court.
That the government has so far chosen not to directly challenge the sentence is a clear indication of the political sensitivities involved
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But unless the government intervenes directly and actually quashes the conviction itself the controversy over her case will remain as strong as ever.
This latest statement is a clear sign of how apprehensive the Nigerian authorities have become to negative publicity over the staging of the Miss World contest.
They want the event to portray the country in a positive light, but the controversy over the stoning sentence threatens to overshadow the glitz and glamour of the occasion.
Election worries
The statement makes it clear that, although
