No fewer than three men have sentenced to death by a Sharia Shariah Court in Ningi, Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State over homosexuality.
The men were identified as Mallam Haruna (70 years old), Abdullahi Abubakar Beti (30 years old) and Kamilu Ya’u (20 years old).
The Shariah judge, Munka’ilu Sabo-Ningi, said the men violated Section 134 of the Bauchi State Penal Law of 2001 as well as the provisions of Fiquhussunah Jizu’i No.2 on page 362.
In an interview with The Punch, Mallam Ibrahim Abba, a friend of the convicted Septugarian said he was arrested by some vigilante and was brought to Mai Angwa’s (village heads) house and from there, they took him away to Ningi on a motorcycle.
Defending his friend against the crime he was said to have committed, Abba said,
“I’ve stayed with him for all these years without any problem and honestly, I can’t say whether he’s guilty or not. Only God knows a man’s heart.
“For his character, he has been a nice man and a peace-loving person; we have not heard of any negative thing about him except for this incident. He has lived in peace with everyone in this place for all these years.
Abba further disclosed that Haruna had stayed single ever since he divorce his wife in Kano before moving to the village.
“When he was in his village back then in Kano, he was married and had a son. It was after he separated from his wife that he came here. Since then, he hasn’t had any wife here and he’s been living all alone; he’s just been here farming.
Speaking about the others, Abba said he knows them and one of them is the son of his friend, Ya’u, adding that their relationship is mutual since Mallam Haruna came to the village.
Abba pleaded with the government to intervene as he has tried reaching out to the family who did not return his calls or show up.
He decried the sentencing, saying it’s unheard of.
