Nigeria’s mass wedding – and how telling lovers from fraudsters is proving tricky

Amina Alhassan, 24, says she could not have afforded to get married at the moment had it not been for the mass wedding scheme Aminudeen admitted that the Islamic police were aware of such allegations: "We have found that there are some people asking others to pay certain money so they can make the list.

One of successful grooms, 43-year-old clothes trader Rabiu Yusuf, agreed the process of applying to be married had gone smoothly for him.

The Hisbah office has been very busy for weeks as brides and grooms try to ensure they made the final list The state government has spent approximately 1m naira ($735; £544) on each participating couple.