Oct. 14
NIGERIA:
Adultery: Men let off, women get death by stones
Islamic courts in Nigeria sentenced 2 women to death by stoning for having
sex out of wedlock, but 2 men whom they said they slept with were
acquitted for lack of evidence, authorities said on Tuesday.
Both sentences, which were passed last month in the northern state of
Bauchi, have to be confirmed by the state governor before being carried
out, and they are open to appeal.
Nobody has been lawfully stoned to death in Nigeria since 12 northern
states introduced Islamic Sharia law in 2000, because all such sentences
have been overturned on appeal.
Hajara Ibrahim, a 29-year-old woman, was sentenced on Oct. 5 by an Sharia
court in the Tafawa Balewa area of the state, having confessed to having
sex with 35-year-old Dauda Sani and becoming pregnant, the court said.
"The court has however handed the woman convict to her guardian to take
care of her until she delivers the baby before the sentence will be
executed by stoning her to death according to the provisions of the Sharia
penal code," it said.
"There is no evidence to link him with the allegation and consequently the
court acquitted him for lack of evidence."
The second woman, 26-year-old Daso Adamu, was handed the same sentence on
September 15 by a Sharia court in Ningi area of Bauchi state, said judge
Ahmed Musa Wurojamel. Adamu admitted to having sex with a 35-year-old man
12 times, and is now in custody in Ningi prison.
Sharia judgments often go unreported in Nigeria because they are handed
down in small, remote court houses and local media interest is limited.
(source: Express India)
