18 charged with sodomy

2007-08-10 20:41

Abuja - Eighteen men face charges of sodomy in a Nigerian Islamic court after authorities arrested them as they prepared to take part in a gay marriage, state media reported.

Gay sex is illegal across Nigeria, but defendants convicted under the Muslim code, called Shariah, may face death by stoning. However, no Shariah court-ordered execution has been carried out since Shariah was implemented in 12 northern Nigeria states seven years ago.

The 18 men from across the heavily Muslim region were arrested on August 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 on Wednesday with sodomy in a Bauchi Shariah court, where they pleaded innocent, the news agency reported on Thursday evening. Their next court date is August 21, said the news agency.

'Shariah contravened secular constitution'

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, after years of oppressive military regimes.

President Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim who succeeded a Christian leader when he took power on May 29, was governor of one of those states, Katsina. Nigeria has 36 states.

Yar'Adua hasn't spoken publicly about Shariah since he became a presidential candidate late last year. But he has repeatedly 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 punishment or other serious forms of punishment allowed under Shariah to take place, even threatening military intervention to stop them.

No stonings or executions have been carried out, and there have been only two known amputations of convicted thieves' hands.

Nigeria's federal lawmakers are considering strengthening rules against homosexuality in Nigeria, debating a law that would ban gay marriages, penalise gay-themed media and outlaw meetings of gays.

Nigeria, Africa's most-populous nation, is a deeply conservative country where homosexuality runs counter to many people's cultural beliefs and religious practices, both Muslim and Christian.

- AP