Gusau - Two men received 20 lashes each in public in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara state after an Islamic court convicted them of gambling, a court official said on Wednesday.
Garuba Bagobiri-Umguwaro and Mohammadu Danige, from the Maru area of the state, were on Tuesday ordered to pay a fine of 4 000 naira (about R250) each after confessing to the offence, the official said.
The men received their sentences before a crowd of 3 000 people at the palace of the village head, the official said.
Strict Islamic law, known as sharia, prohibits gambling.
Zamfara state was the first of eight northern states to introduce sharia following Nigeria's return to civilian rule last year.
The state has also been the most active in applying the code despite opposition from the country's christians and the Nigerian government. - Sapa-AFP