18 Nigerians Charged With Sodomy at Gay Wedding
Pastor Dale Morgan
18 Nigerians Charged With Sodomy at Gay Wedding*
The Associated Press
Friday, August 10, 2007; 6:53 PM
ABUJA, Nigeria -- Eighteen men face charges of sodomy in a Nigerian
Islamic court after they were arrested while allegedly preparing to take
part in a gay wedding, state media reported.
Gay sex is illegal across Nigeria, and defendants convicted under the
Muslim code, called Shariah, may face death by stoning. However, no
Shariah court-ordered execution has been carried out since the Islamic
law was implemented in 12 northern Nigeria states seven years ago.
The 18 men were arrested on Aug. 5 in remote northern Bauchi state,
where they were found with women's apparel as they prepared for a gay
wedding, Nigeria's state news agency reported.
The men were charged Wednesday in a Bauchi Shariah court, where they
pleaded innocent, the news agency reported late Thursday.
Nigeria's 140 million people are nearly evenly divided between
Christians, who predominate in the south, and Muslims, who predominate
in the north. Shariah was implemented in a dozen northern states after
the return to civilian rule in 1999, following years of oppressive
military regimes.
President Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim who succeeded a Christian leader when
he took power May 29, was governor of one of those states, Katsina.
Yar'Adua has not spoken publicly about Shariah since becoming a
presidential candidate last year. But he has said he is committed to
continuing the rule of his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Obasanjo believed that Shariah contravened Nigeria's secular
constitution. He said he would never allow capital or other serious
punishment allowed under Shariah to take place.
Nigeria is a deeply conservative country where homosexuality runs
counter to many people's beliefs, both Muslim and Christian.