Nigerian lovers not told of their death penalty

A Nigerian man and his lover, who is eight months pregnant, have still not been told a court has sentenced them to death by stoning for having sexual intercourse outside marriage, their lawyer said yesterday.

Ahmadu Ibrahim, 35, and Fatima Usman, 32, are being held in a federal jail and were not freed to attend the court hearing in August that sentenced them to death. The couple were sentenced under Sharia law, which allows amputations for theft or death by stoning for adultery.

Officials did not explain why the couple could not be told. Ibrahim is the first man to be sentenced to death for adultery in Nigeria.

Previously only women were prosecuted and their children used as evidence.