Islamic police raid 'gay wedding' in Nigeria's Kano city
The police did not aim to penalize the 15 male and 4 female wedding guests who were detained during the Sunday raid, according to Mr. Fagge, who spoke to the BBC.
Boakyewaa Lawrencia 
19 Muslims were detained by the Islamic police force in the largest city in northern Nigeria on suspicion of attending a same-sex marriage.
According to the force's spokesman Lawal Ibrahim Fagge, a tip-off led to the raid on the wedding in Kano.
He claimed that the pair, who had not yet exchanged vows, had managed to escape and that police were looking for them.
With a predominance of Muslims, Kano has both a secular legal system and an Islamic one.
In Nigeria as a whole, where residents of the north are predominately Muslims and those of the south are predominately Christians, homosexual activities are prohibited by both legal systems.
The Hisbah, a well-known Islamic police agency in Kano, upholds a rigid moral code.
The police did not aim to penalize the 15 male and 4 female wedding guests who were detained during the Sunday raid, according to Mr. Fagge, who spoke to the BBC.
Instead, he said that the group—which he claimed to include gay individuals and transgender people—was receiving "counselling," and their guardians or parents had been pushed to speak up.
"Before filing a lawsuit against them, we'll look into the possibility of reform. First, we offer them advice, consult with the parents, and encourage them to make lifestyle changes "explained the Hisbah representative.
Islamic courts in Kano have never found anyone guilty of being gay.
According to Mr. Fagge, 18 attendees of a comparable wedding ceremony last year who signed a document promising to "alter their lifestyle" were freed.
Gay rights advocates in Nigeria have long fought for their rights, but there is fierce hostility in a nation where many Muslims and Christians follow traditional religious beliefs.
