Nigerians arrested on gay wedding says "It was my birthday party''

"It was my birthday party, not a gay wedding," 18-year-old Faruk Maiduguri, told reporters at the Hisbah offices that he and his friends were only celebrating his birthday.

The Islamic law-enforcement agency, the Hisbah, said on Tuesday

"We have 12 men in custody, including the bride. We arrested them at the venue of a planned gay wedding," Daurawa told AFP.

"We got information of the wedding four days earlier and our men stormed the venue while the wedding was about to start."

Many guests escaped during the raid, he added.

Daurawa said the suspects, who came from Kano, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Bauchi,  Ibadan and Osogbo  "looked and acted feminine", which prompted their arrest.

Some of them were discharged while others were released on bail.

Nigeria's Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act carries penalties of up to 14 years in jail for anyone confirmed to be in a gay union.