Kamogelo Olaitan
The Islamic shari’a court in northern Nigeria has handed down death by stoning sentences for three men who “confessed” to having engaged in homosexual acts.
The three men, aged 20, 30 and 70, were sentenced to death by judge Munka’ilu Sabo in Ningi area, Bauchi state.
Reuters reports that commissioner Adam Dan Kafi said the shari’a court charged the trio following their arrest on 14 June in the village of Gwada.
They were sentenced under section 134 of the 2001 Bauchi State Penal Law, which states: “Whoever commits the offence of sodomy shall be punished with death by stoning or any other means decided by the state.”
However, any death penalty handed down by the shari’a courts needs to be rubber-stamped by the state governor.
And the men can appeal the sentences within the next 30 days.
Bauchi is one of 12 northern states that subscribe to the Islamic legal system.
Under the secular criminal laws of northern and southern Nigeria, the maximum punishment for same-sex sexual activity is 14 years’ imprisonment, with same-sex marriages being illegal throughout the country.
Image source: @NigNewspaper
