Prosecutors asked an Islamic court for more time to...

Prosecutors asked an Islamic court for more time to prepare the case against a Nigerian man appealing on grounds of insanity against being stoned to death for raping a young girl.
Sarimu Mohammed, 50, was convicted on May 8 of raping the nine-year-old by a lower sharia court after he confessed to committing the offence.
The Sharia Court of Appeal in Dutse, northwestern Nigeria adjourned the appeal hearing to September 25 after prosecution lawyers asked for time to enable them respond to the grounds of appeal.
Should Mohammed lose the appeal, he would become the first man to be executed for rape since about a dozen states in predominantly Muslim northern Nigeria adopted the strict Islamic sharia legal code in 2000.
Mohammed appeared in court for the first time since he was convicted, after the court ordered the Jigawa state government in northwest Nigeria to produce him at the hearing. He is being held in prison in the town of Gumel, some 260 km (160 miles) north of Dutse, in Jigawa state.
Mohammed's lawyers said they based the appeal on grounds of insanity and the fact the defendant did not have enough time to defend himself.
"We are looking forward to a speedy conclusion of the case because our client has been in jail for some time now and this is an appeal, so the matter can be concluded after two or three sittings," Gausu said.