19 Arrested at Same-Sex Wedding in Nigeria
Members of Islamic police enforcing sharia law in the northern Nigerian state of Kano arrested 19 men and women yesterday, accusing them of attending a same-sex marriage.A spokesperson for the religious police, known locally at the hisbah, said they acted after receiving a tip about the alleged wedding.
Same-sex sexual relations are illegal in the conservative African country, punishable with prison sentences of 10 to 14 years under state law, and by death under sharia religious law.“Our men broke into the venue where a gay couple was holding a wedding and arrested 19 men and women, including the wedding planner,” Lawan Ibrahim Fagge told the Agence France Press in a statement.Fagge told the BBC the hisbah would counsel the 15 men and four women and their families before deciding whether to hand them over to the country's police.“We’ll explore the avenue of change before we charge them in court,” Fagge said.
