On Saturday, October 25, police in the city of Kano, in northern Nigeria, arrested 25 people after raiding an alleged ‘gay wedding’.

The religious police, also known as Hisbah, stormed a gathering held at an event centre in Kano, where the alleged wedding ceremony was set to take place. The action followed a tip-off from a “concerned resident” who alerted authorities about a man who was “planning to tie the knot with another young man at the scene of the illegal assembly.”

In a statement to the press, Deputy Commander General, Sheik Mujahid Abubakar said: “Upon arrival, our personnel discovered a gathering of young men and women who appeared to be conducting a marriage ceremony.”

18 men and seven women were arrested at the gathering, including the couple who were allegedly getting married. According to the police, they have been taken into custody and will be charged following the conclusion of the investigations.

Similar raids have taken place in other parts of Nigeria, with 67 people being arrested in August 2023 for allegedly attending a gay wedding and 76 more being detained for taking part in a similar gathering only a few months later.

In twelve of Nigeria’s 36 states, Sharia, the Islamic law code, runs parallel to the state and federal criminal justice systems. Under the interpretation of such law, homosexuality carries the death penalty, though such a sentence has never been enforced. In the rest of Nigeria, same-sex activity is punishable with life in prison.

Moreover, the promotion of same-sex unions was made a criminal offence in Nigeria in 2014, with individuals breaking the law facing up to 14 years in prison. The LGBTQ+ community faces widespread discrimination in the country, with 2023 research by the Pew Research Centre highlighting that 97% of Nigerians oppose the legalisation of same-sex marriage.