Suspects on trial for attending 'gay' wedding

A group of 54 suspects have gone on trial in northern Nigeria for celebrating a gay wedding in April. The defendants – most of whom were not present in court – have been charged with criminal conspiracy and holding an illegal gathering. A report on the NBC News site notes that defence lawyer Kimi Appah said the gathering was a birthday party. 'Police got wind of it, arrested them and made trumped up charges that they are trying to celebrate a gay marriage,' he told the court in Zaria, a city in the northern state of Kaduna. Despite pressure from Western governments, former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014 signed a Bill that criminalised same-sex relationships.