The Hisbah board in Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi State has arrested seven men over allegations that they exchanged their wives among themselves in what authorities described as a violation of Islamic teachings.
The head of the Hisbah board in the area, Malam Ridwani Muhammad Khairan, said the suspects were linked to a group identified as Wuddadu.
Khairan described the alleged practice as an “unprecedented crime” and said investigations showed that the arrangement reportedly started after one of the suspects claimed he received spiritual inspiration through a dream.
“One of them, Muhammad Awwal, confirmed to us that he got this knowledge from a dream, saying that he had a dream of a prophet and that is why they persuaded their wives to do this act,” he said.
According to Khairan, the alleged activities had reportedly continued in Azare town for nearly two years before the matter became public knowledge.
He explained that the issue surfaced after one of the women involved allegedly withdrew from the group. The woman reportedly said she could no longer continue with what he described as pagan practices.
“One of the women said she couldn’t handle this paganism, so she left them, which is when the mystery began to unravel,” he added.
Khairan also stated that some members of the group later approached the Hisbah board with complaints about the development. He said the suspects were subsequently invited for questioning and allegedly admitted to the accusations.
“There was a group called Quddadu who came to me and said that there were some people among them who had made a claim that was not satisfied….we invited the people and sat with them and they confirmed their allegations to me.”
