Man receives 20 lashes for being gay in Bauchi - BBC report

According to a report by the BBC,a 20 year old man in Bauchi received
20 lashes seven years after he stopped being gay. For real? My head
hurts from reading all these. Find the report below...
A Nigerian man has received 20 lashes after an Islamic court in the
northern city of Bauchi convicted him of homosexual offences.
Under Islamic law, courts can punish homosexual acts by stoning to death.
But the judge said he took into account that the Muslim man, Mubarak
Ibrahim, 20, carried out the acts seven years ago, and had stopped the
practice.
In Nigeria, homosexual acts are illegal under both Islamic and secular
law and restrictions have been tightened.
Earlier this month, President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law a bill
which bans same-sex marriages, gay groups and shows of same-sex public
affection.
The new legislation applies throughout Nigeria.
Most states in the predominantly Muslim north of Nigeria have adopted
Islamic law, known as Sharia, since the end of military rule in 1999.
Along with Mr Ibrahim, 11 other Muslims and a Christian man were
arrested last month accused by the authorities of being homosexuals.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of about $30 (£18).
Mr Ibrahim told the BBC he was relieved that Judge Nuhu Muhammad had
been lenient on him and had not sentenced him to death.
The BBC's Ishaq Khalid was in court when Mr Ibrahim was lashed with a
whip, made of animal skin smeared with oil.
Mr Ibrahim, who had pleaded guilty to the charge, was ordered to lie
on a bench, and an official whipped his back in front of a packed
courtroom, our correspondent says.
Mr Ibrahim screamed in pain while being lashed, but was able to walk
afterwards, he adds.
The trial of two other men was adjourned to 23 January.
The fate of the nine other men arrested on the same charge is unclear
but on Wednesday the Sharia Commission in Bauchi said the Christian
would be tried by a "conventional court", not an Islamic court.