Nigeria: Man sentenced to death by stoning

An Islamic court in northern Nigeria has sentenced a man to death by stoning for the crime of rape.

The BBC reports that the judge in the state of Jigawa passed the sentence after the man, Sarimu Mohammed, confessed to raping a nine-year-old girl. The Nigerian newspaper, This Day, adds that the judge gave the accused time to think over his admission of the offence on three occasions, but he remained firm that he was guilty.