Nigeria marries 1,500 couples in mass wedding
The government describes the programme as a way to support low-income families and promote social stability. Among those married were people who lost family members in violent attacks
Some 1,500 couples got married at a mass wedding organised by Abba Kabir Yusuf, the governor of Kano state, in northern Nigeria.
The regional government described the two-day event as a way to support low-income families and promote social stability.
"The whole idea for the marriage is to help our families and we husbands who are not financially stable to marry; that's why the government is helping us get married," groom Abubakar Aliyu Musa told the Associated Press.
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This is the second time Yusuf's administration has organised a mass wedding.
What else do we know about the programme in Kano state?
According to Kano's regional government, each bride received a dowry of 200,000 naira ($147, €127) and support to set up a small business.
The couples were also given household items including beds, mattresses and blankets.
The couples underwent screening and counselling before the wedding.
Governor Yusuf described the programme as a "bold social intervention aimed at restoring hope and supporting dignified family life in Kano."
"The programme was designed not only to assist women who might otherwise struggle to afford marriage, but also to strengthen families and promote social stability in the state," he said.
Widower remarries in mass wedding
Among those who participated in the mass wedding were people who lost family members in violent attacks.
One of them was Haruna Bashir, who lost his wife and six children in an attack earlier in the year. Daurawa hailed the ceremony as a step towards Bashir "gradually returning to normal life" after having "hardly interacted with people … since the tragic incident."
Nigeria has been grappling with a major security crisis for years, particularly in the country's north, which is regularly hit by raids and attacks by Islamist insurgents and organised gangs.
Many armed groups in Nigeria also kidnap schoolchildren to demand large ransoms.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian government announced the release of 308 people who had been abducted.
