An Islamic sharia court in Nigeria’s northern state of Bauchi has sentenced three men to death by stoning after convicting them on charges of engaging in homosexuality, the leader of the religious police that arrested them said on Friday. Northern Nigeria is predominantly Muslim and the states in the region use sharia courts to punish residents for crimes ranging from adultery to blasphemy. Adam Dan Kafi, the head of the Hisbah religious police in the Ningi local government area of Bauchi said the three men were arrested on June 14 and charged in a sharia court. The men, including a 70-year-old, all confessed to the crime even though they were not represented by lawyers, Kafi said.