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Two men convicted of stealing in Nigeria’s northern Katsina State are to have their hands amputated, ‘Thisday’ newspaper reported an Islamic Court as ruling.
The Lagos daily said on Tuesday that the two men were accused of stealing nine donkeys in the town of Batsari early this year and charged before a Sharia Court presided over by Khadi Mustapha Darma. They pleaded guilty and begged for forgiveness.
But Darma ruled there was no other punishment prescribed by the Koran except amputation of a hand each. The sentence will have to be approved by the state governor before it can be carreid out.
Katsina is one of nine states in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north that have adopted strict application of Islamic law over the past year. However, the sentence passed on the convicted thieves is its first. Only Zamfara State, the first to adopt Sharia, has carried out amputations.
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