The Kano State Hisbah Board says 78 youths – male and female – have been arrested over alleged involvement in immoral acts and indecent dressing.
Haruna Ibn-Sina, commandant, Kano State Hisbah Board, says they were arrested at an event centre called ‘White House’ in the Nasarawa GRA area of Kano.
‘Immoral acts’ are banned under Sharia law operating in Kano State.
The Hisbah boss said the suspects denied attending a same-sex marriage, saying they were only celebrating the birthday of their peer.
“When we received the report, we went there and could not establish a fact that they were holding same-sex marriage but we caught them in a highly immoral situation both the males and females,” the Hisbah commander said.
In 2021, Hisbah came under attack after it failed to act on some pictures of the daughter of the Emir of Bichi who got married to Yusuf, President Muhammadu Buhari’s only son.
A video of the wedding party shows Nigerian singer, Mayorkun singing and some of the party attendees spotting Afro, Mohawk or any of the hairstyles Kano State Hisbah has labelled as “unIslamic” and an insult to Islam.
Also, secular songs Hisbah has vehemently frowned upon were played at the party, with young northern men and women dancing to them.
All these have attracted punishments from Kano Hisbah, in cases where poor Nigerians were involved.
Noting the hypocrisy exhibited by the Islamic police, which were nowhere to be found during the wedding, human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore had said, “Yusuf Buhari’s wedding and the Kano Hisbah that shaves the head of poor people but was nowhere to be found around the highly secular Muhammadu Buhari son’s wedding: One country, two laws -One is applicable to the poor and the other is applicable to rich and highly connected. Who says poverty is not a CRIME? #RevolutionNow #BuhariMustGo.”
Ironically, Hisbah has been notorious for shaving the heads of poor northerners with Afro, Mohawk and other hairstyles termed as “unIslamic” by the biased Islamic police.
After it was knocked by the public for being silent on the photographs of the bridal shower of Buhari’s daughter-in-law, Hisbah responded by prohibiting the sharing of the bridal shower photographs.
SaharaReporters had reported that some Nigerians highlighted Zahra’s gown, part of which is made from a transparent material, while others pointed out that she did not have her hair covered as is usually done by Muslim women.
The Islamic police described sharing of the photos online by Muslims as a sin.
Similarly, in February, a barber from Benue State, Elijah Ode, was arrested by Kano Hisbah in the Sabongari area of the state for giving his customers haircuts said to have offended the Islamic faith.
Two of Ode’s customers were also tortured for having such “offensive” haircuts.
The religious police force reportedly arraigned Ode and had him remanded.
The Islamic police have since banned stylish haircuts, sagging of trousers and playing of music at social events by disk jockeys.
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Recently, the Kano State Hisbah Board banned the use of mannequins to display clothes by tailors, supermarkets and boutique owners in the state, saying they are responsible for immoral thoughts.
Hisbah Commander-in-Chief said the use of mannequins by tailors, boutique owners and others contravenes the provision of Islamic injunctions.
He added that the agency would educate offenders on how Islam frowns on the use of mannequins and send its officials to apprehend and prosecute them.
