Search
  1. Home
  2. West Africa
  3. Nigeria

Govt orders stop to flogging sentence

Microfinance unit of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF Microfinance) UNCDF
The new EARS system will ensure the money is properly spent
    MBABANE

    Nigeria said on Friday it would not allow a flogging sentence passed on a 17-year-old girl for premarital sex under Islamic law in the country's northern Zamfara State, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

    "As a government we will not tolerate the abuse of the right of any Nigerian," Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dubem Onyia was quoted as saying.

    He said that the Zamfara authorities had been ordered to desist from carrying out the sentence of 180 strokes of the cane on Bariya Ibrahim Magazu.

    The central government's intervention followed an official Canadian a protest reported in that country's 'Globe and Mail' newspaper. Ottawa had condemned the sentence as "cruel and unusual punishments involving mutilation and excessive pain (which) violate international standards of human treatment".

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join