Three men were sentenced this week to death by stoning by an Islamic court in the Nigerian state of Bauchi (northeast), after being accused of homosexuality in a country where it is criminalized, the EFE agency reported.
After listening to several testimonies and after the confession of the accused – who had no legal representation during the trial — The judge decided to impose the death penalty on the three men, aged 20, 30 and 70, according to the local press cited by EFE.
The case dates back to June 14, when Hisbah, the religious police that guarantees compliance with the sharia (Islamic law), arrested and brought to justice the three men accused of homosexual acts in the village of Gwada, in the Ningi region.
Homosexuality is criminalized in Nigeria, with a criminal framework with prison sentences of up to 14 years, but also the death penalty by stoning (stoned) in some parts of the north of the country where sharia is applied.
The country banned same-sex marriage in 2014.
Some of the laws criminalizing homosexual people (men and women) were inherited from the British colonial government and tightened up with later regulations.
One of the most serious cases in recent years was the accusation of 47 people arrested at a party in 2018, although the case was dismissed in 2020.
Source: Observadora
