GAY WEDDING
UNSPLASH

Islamic sharia police arrested 19 young people for organizing a gay wedding in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

Police arrested 15 women and four men in their early 20s on Dec. 18 after receiving a tip-off. The couple managed to flee the scene before the police raided the wedding party, police spokesperson Lawal Ibrahim Fagge noted.

"Our men broke into the venue where a gay couple was holding a wedding and arrested 19 men and women, including the wedding planner," Fagge said, as per AfricaNews.

Those taken into custody further denied any wrongdoing, saying no wedding was taking place at the scene, Gay Community News reported. Fagge further noted those who attended or organized the wedding will not be punished, but will be forced to undergo "counseling."

"We'll explore the avenue of change before we charge them in court. First, we counsel them and involve the parents and we hope they change their lifestyle," Fagge added.

Their parents or guardians have been asked to come forward, he added.

Kano is a predominantly Muslim state in northern Nigeria where sharia law operates alongside common law. Homosexuality is punishable by death under sharia law, although the sentence has never been carried out.

Kano also has an Islamic moral police force called Hisbah, which is responsible for enforcing a strict moral code within the city.

In addition, 12 northern states in Nigeria have adopted Sharia Law, making homosexual relations punishable by death. Also, any expression which does not correspond with the gender norms associated with the sex assigned at birth is criminalized.

In 2014, Nigeria signed the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act into law. It criminalizes same-sex marriage and the display of affection between people of the same gender, further imposing a 10-14 year prison sentence on anyone who "registers, operates, or participates in gay clubs, societies, and organizations." It also prescribes a penalty for people who know, or "abet" same-sex relationships, thus criminalizing the friends and families of LGBTQ+ people.

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LGBTQ+ rights groups have been campaigning for years in the country, calling on the government to respect gay rights. However, there has been a significant amount of pushback from people who hold conservative religious values. The 2019 Nigeria Acceptance of Homosexuality Survey found a meager 7% of respondents believed that homosexuality should be accepted by society.