Tearful gay wedding suspects paraded by Nigeria morality police

Sharia morality police have arrested 12 people at a party that the authorities described as a “gay wedding” in Northern Nigeria on Monday.

According to the Nigerian media, one of the arrested men was 20-year-old Faruq Maiduguri, who was “on the verge of tying the knot with his partner” in the state of Kano.

At a press briefing by Aminu Daurawa, Commander General of the Kano Hisbah, the group that enforces sharia law in the area, they were informed by one of the alleged groom’s family that the wedding was in the offing.

The police raided the venue and arrested 12 people. Some guests apparently managed to escape, including the other alleged groom, 25-year-old Abba Mohammed.

The 12 “suspects” were paraded in front of journalists at the press conference.

“As you can see from their appearance and the way they looked, there is every element of homosexuality in them,” Daurawa said.

Maiduguri, however, told journalists that the event was not a gay wedding at all.

“I don’t know what they are talking about. I was celebrating my birthday before the Hisbah people came to the venue and arrested all of us. They accused me of planning a gay marriage but I told them I didn’t know what they were talking about,” he said.

According to AFP, the young man is 18-years-old and was in tears during the press conference.

Muslims in twelve northern states in Nigeria live under Islamic Sharia law, which allows homosexuality to be punished with death by stoning. Although this sentence is rarely carried out, those found guilty have recently most commonly been sentenced to public flogging.

The suspects could also be jailed for 14 years under the federal Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which was passed early last year. Gay sex is also illegal in Nigeria under federal law, with penalties including 14 years imprisonment.