Gumi: Sharia Justifies Kano’s Mass Weddings

Amid the ongoing controversy trailing the recent government-sponsored marriages by the Kano State Government for over 1,500 couples, controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, says the action of the state government is backed by Sharia law.

The Islamic leader made the remark on Thursday in a post he shared on his verified Facebook page, saying the state government had shown that it was a responsible government. He noted that such interventions were required in a state operating under Sharia jurisprudence, particularly where people who wanted to marry could not afford the cost of the ceremony.

His remarks comes on the heels of the public outrage that has greeted the state government action, as some critics insist that it’s a waste of public fund to organize weddings for individuals, most of who have no jobs to survive and take care of the family after the ceremony has been carried out.

Those in this school of thought insist that this is responsible for the many social and family problems in the region, particularly the increasing number of almajiris or street urchins-children who roam the streets because their parents cannot take care of them- in northern Nigeria.

But Gumi According said states are required to intervene and fund marriage ceremonies in a society where prostitution, fornication, adultery and promiscuity were proscribed by Islamic religious laws.
“In a Shariah law-driven state, where prostitution, fornication, adultery, and promiscuity are prohibited by both divine and state laws, using public funds to facilitate the marriage of women who are in excess of the available pool of eligible men, or of any young person in dire need of marriage, is a legitimate and responsible component of good governance,” he said.
Checks reveal that government-sponsored weddings are common in northern Nigeria, where 12 state governments have adopted the Sharia legal code.
Kano State, which has indicated that its plan is to fund 3,000 public weddings for intending couples by the end of the programme, is not the only state government to have sponsored mass weddings for couples this year.
In February this year, Kebbi State sponsored 300 couples, promising to expand the programme to cover an additional 300 couples.
Also, in April, Zamfara State sponsored 100 couples from the state’s 14 local government areas in a mass wedding, where the beneficiaries were awarded money and household materials to start their families.
Meanwhile, checks indicated that Kano State has conducted much larger mass weddings, having earlier used public funds to marry over 1,520 couples in 2026.