The Zazzau Emirate Council, Kaduna State, has suspended Alhaji Mustapha Adamu, a traditional title holder in the emirate, for allegedly taking the law into his own hands by beating a suspected homosexual.
The Zazzau Emirate Council’s media and communication manager, Abdullahi Aliyu, who revealed this in a statement on Tuesday, said Adamu flogged the accused in the state’s Zaria Local Government Area (LGA).
He said Adamu’s suspension was the result of him taking the law into his own hands by whipping one Yusuf Yahaya (SABO) of Unguwan Magajiya Zaria City with 60 strokes of the cane.
The suspension, according to Aliyu, was indefinite and effective immediately.
According to the statement, Zazzau Emirate will not tolerate any act that violates the rules and orders of any traditional title holder in the community.
It also recommended that traditional title holders always refer cases before them to the competent authorities for adjudication rather than interpreting the laws themselves.
Adamu stated that he saw Yusuf Yahaya engaged in carnal knowledge with a young boy and chose to chastise him by giving him 60 strokes of the cane as a deterrence.
He was, however, disappointed by the “hurried” judgment made against him by the Zazzau Emirate Council without providing him a fair hearing. He also accused some emirate council members of escalating the situation.
