AFP, Nigeria | Thursday
AN Islamic court in northern Nigeria has sentenced a 17-year-old pregnant girl to 180 lashes of the whip after finding her guilty of engaging in premarital sex.
Bariya Ibrahim Magazu was found guilty by the Islamic court at Isafe in northern Zamfara State, said the court’s presiding judge, Malam Idris Usman Gusau. Police in the village of Magazu reported the unmarried 17-year-old to the court in July after observing that she was several months’ pregnant.
Asked by the court to identify the father, she named three middle-aged men as being the possible father, saying that all three had paid her to have sex with them, adding that it had been against her wishes. Seven witnesses cited by the girl were unable to confirm the claims against the three men, all farmers living in the village, to the satisfaction of the court, which demands strict proof.
As a result, the judge last week sentenced the girl to receive 100 lashes of the whip for engaging in pre-marital sex and 80 lashes for making unsubstantiated claims against the three men. The girl, who is soon expected to deliver her child, has been consigned to the care of her parents and then 40 days after the delivery will be publicly flogged, the judge said.
Since Nigeria returned to civilian rule last year, eight northern states have introduced or declared plans to introduce the Islamic code known as Sharia law.
Zamfara was the first state to introduce the code and has been the most active in prosecuting offenders. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian, said earlier this year that he believes that punishments prescribed by Sharia law, including public floggings for pre-marital sex, violate the constitution and are an infringement of human rights. He has advised victims to take the matter up with the Nigerian Supreme Court.