In a recent crackdown, Nigeria’s religious police, known as the Hisbah, detained 25 individuals accused of organizing a gay wedding in Kano, the largest city in the predominantly Muslim northern region. The arrests were made on Sunday following a tip-off from local residents. Among those detained were 18 men and 7 women, all in their early 20s, including the couple believed to be planning the ceremony. Mujaheed Abubakar, deputy head of the Hisbah, stated that one man was allegedly preparing to marry another man at the event center where the gathering took place. Authorities have launched an investigation with the intent to prosecute those involved. Sharia law, which operates alongside state and federal legal systems in 12 northern Nigerian states, imposes severe penalties for homosexuality, including the death penalty, though this has never been enforced. Nigeria’s federal legislation from 2014 also criminalizes same-sex marriages and the promotion of civil unions, with violators facing up to 14 years in prison. The Hisbah has a history of arresting individuals at alleged gay weddings, with similar incidents reported in 2022, 2018, 2015, and 2007, though no convictions have been secured to date.