The Kano State Hisbah Board has apprehended seven suspected cross-dressers during a late-night raid on a well-known social joint in the city centre.
The arrests followed an intelligence-led operation that pointed to alleged illicit activities at the venue along Zoo Road, Kano.
Deputy Commander General of the Hisbah Board, Sheikh Mujahid Aminudeen Abubakar, who confirmed the arrests, said all the suspects are teenagers below the age of 23. He added that the joint would soon be closed.
Sheikh Mujahid revealed that initial investigations showed the suspects traveled from Kogi, Bauchi, and Kano states to partake in what the board described as immoral acts.
He further stated that during the operation, Hisbah operatives also detained a young man and a woman found together inside a tricycle, while another missing woman was traced to Sokoto and reunited with her parents.
According to him, the suspects and operators of the establishment will be handed over to the relevant authorities for further action.
He reiterated Hisbah’s dedication to combating social vices in the state and urged residents to report suspicious activities to the board or other appropriate authorities.
The board recently conducted a similar raid in the Gaida area of Kumbotso Local Government Area, where six suspected cross-dressers were arrested following complaints from residents.
In that case, the suspects reportedly confessed and pleaded for leniency. However, while the board ordered that proper action be taken after investigations, it has not disclosed whether the earlier suspects have been prosecuted or found guilty.
In October, Hisbah police apprehended 25 young people accused of organising a gay wedding in socially conservative northern Nigeria, authorities said Sunday.
The sharia police, known as the Hisbah, stormed an event centre in Kano, the largest city in the predominantly Muslim region, where the alleged wedding was expected, acting on a tip-off from residents, officials said.
Eighteen men and seven women, all in their early 20s, including the couple believed to be marrying, were taken into custody, said Mujaheed Abubakar, deputy head of the Hisbah.
He told reporters that one man was “planning to tie the knot with another young man at the scene of the illegal assembly”, and that an investigation seeking prosecutions would be carried out.
Sharia, the Islamic law code, based on the teachings of the Koran, runs parallel to state and federal justice systems in 12 northern Nigerian states.
Under the local interpretation of it, homosexuality is punishable by death, although the sentence has never been enforced.
