OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lagos | Monday
IN a case that raised international concerns about human rights in Nigeria, a teenage mother found guilty by an Islamic court of pre-marital sex has been flogged 100 times, a senior official said on Monday.
Bariya Ibrahim Magazu, found guilty in September of the Islamic offence of “zina” or pre-marital sex, was given her punishment on Friday, the deputy governor of Zamfara State said.
Mahmoud Shinkafi declined to go into details of the punishment. But he said that following her beating, administered in line with Islamic law, the girl was able to walk away, and was relieved her ordeal was now over with.
“Immediately after the punishment she thanked Allah for having the punishment… She thanked Allah and now she is free,” he said.
“She walked home and when she got to her village she was very happy,” he added.
Shinkafi said that the principal punishment was the disgrace of her beating.
“The disgrace in public is what deters people. She will never be disgraced again… She has her whole dignity. No-one will disgrace her again,” he said.
“It is quite over,” he added.
The sentencing of the teenage girl – originally to 180 lashes – last year led to protests from the human rights groups, Christian organisations and the Canadian government.
She said she had been coerced into sex by three men and gave her age to lawyers as 13 or 14.
Last week, the Islamic High Court in Zamfara, reduced her original sentence from 180 to 100 lashes and revoked a previously announced punishment date of January 27. – AFP