Two Nigerians acquitted by Islamic court over gay sex allegations
Two Nigerian men that were accused of being
homosexuals have been acquitted by an Islamic court due to a lack of
evidence against them
Two men who were accused of having gay sex have been acquitted by a
Nigerian Islamic court because the judge decided there was insufficient
evidence to convict them.
The men were part of a group who were arrested late last year after they were accused of belonging to a gay club.
The men were arrested after locals raided a home in the city of Bauchi that they believed was being frequented by homosexuals.
One of the accused men had been wearing just his shorts while the other was fully clothed and none of the witnesses had seen them engaging in sexual intercourse.
The judge found that the evidence presented against the men was insufficient to judge the men guilty under sharia law.
‘He said sodomy is punishable with death and requires the testimony of four witnesses to the act and in the case of the two men, no-one saw them committing sodomy,’ court clerk Abdul Mohammed told the Reuters news agency.
Five other men who have been convicted by Bauchi’s sharia courts since January have been sentenced to 20 lashes each but the maximum punishment for Muslims in Northern Nigeria is the death penalty.
Nigeria has some of the strictest laws against homosexuality and has made any form of participation in a same-sex wedding an actual criminal offense.
President Goodluck Jonathan signed the so-called ‘Jail All The Gays’ bill further criminalizing homosexuality into law in January.
The men were part of a group who were arrested late last year after they were accused of belonging to a gay club.
The men were arrested after locals raided a home in the city of Bauchi that they believed was being frequented by homosexuals.
One of the accused men had been wearing just his shorts while the other was fully clothed and none of the witnesses had seen them engaging in sexual intercourse.
The judge found that the evidence presented against the men was insufficient to judge the men guilty under sharia law.
‘He said sodomy is punishable with death and requires the testimony of four witnesses to the act and in the case of the two men, no-one saw them committing sodomy,’ court clerk Abdul Mohammed told the Reuters news agency.
Five other men who have been convicted by Bauchi’s sharia courts since January have been sentenced to 20 lashes each but the maximum punishment for Muslims in Northern Nigeria is the death penalty.
Nigeria has some of the strictest laws against homosexuality and has made any form of participation in a same-sex wedding an actual criminal offense.
President Goodluck Jonathan signed the so-called ‘Jail All The Gays’ bill further criminalizing homosexuality into law in January.
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