Nigerian Man to Divorce 82 of 86 Wives

PST LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - A Nigerian man with 86 wives has been ordered under an Islamic decree to divorce 82 of them, or face death under Sharia law. Mohammadu Bello Abubakar, 84, agreed only after the Jamatu Nasril Islam, Nigeria’s leading Islamic body, sentenced him to death for having more than 4 wives, which is allowable under Sharia law. The sentence was lifted only on the condition that he divorces the remaining wives, although he still faces eviction from his home.

Mr Abubakar had challenged Islamic scholars, saying there was no punishment stated in the Koran for having more than four wives. He argued that being forced to leave his wives would cause undue hardship: “All my wives are with children and some of these are people I have married and stayed with for over 30 years. How can they expect me to leave them within two days?”

At last count, Mr Abubakar was said to have somewhere over 170 children.