A CHRISTIAN trader in Kano, Nigeria’s most populous northern state, claimed he had been caned 80 times by an Islamic vigilante group because he was found with a bottle of gin. Obi Livinus, 50, showed journalists the weals that resulted from Monday’s caning by Hizbah, a group which monitors the strict adherence to the Islamic code, called Sharia, in the province. Livinus said he was caned in front of his family by the vigilantes after they ransacked his home and found a bottle of gin he had bought to celebrate New Year. ”Before my 16 children and two wives, they removed my clothes, held me face down and gave me 80 strokes of the cane,” he said. Sharia law was introduced by the government of Kano state in November. It bans the consumption of alcohol, gambling, prostitution and other activities considered vices by Muslims. The provincial government at the time said the law would apply only to Muslims. – AFP