A United Nations human rights expert has raised the alarm over the case of a man in northern Nigeria who has been sentenced to death by stoning after admitting to homosexual sex.
The UN special rapporteur on arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, has called for an immediate review of the entire process that led the man's death sentence under Islamic Sharia law.
Mr Alston says the man, who is about 50-years-old, had been accused of having sex with a much younger man.
He was acquitted of that charge.
But after the judge asked him if he had previously had homosexual sex, the man said yes.
The judge then sentenced him to be stoned to death.
Ten Nigerian women have been sentenced to death by stoning for having sex outside of wedlock since Sharia was brought in; all created outcries and were overturned on appeal.
-Reuters
, an official with the United Nations is decrying a Nigerian court decision to sentence a 50-year-old man to death by  after he admitted to having  with another man. Reports have not named the individual.

The incident in question happened after the 50-year-old man was acquitted of charges that he had sexual relations with a much younger man. During further questioning, the judge asked the accused if he ever had sex with any other men. 

Upon answering yes, the judge convicted the man of  and sentenced him to death by stoning.

Nigeria, the most populous African country, is one of many countries that has started to adopt Sharia, or traditional Islamic law as detailed in the . Since 2000, 12 of Nigeria's northernmost states have adopted Sharia codes for their courtrooms. Under Islamic law, homosexual conduct is a crime punishable by death.

"Sodomy cannot be considered one of the most serious crimes for which, under international law, the death penalty can be prescribed. The punishment is wholly disproportionate," Alston,  on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, said in  a written statement Friday.

Nigeria's southern states are mostly Christian and do not follow Sharia law.