The Kano State Hisbah Board plans to give out 250 widows and divorcees under its second batch of group marriage before the commencement of the Ramadan Fast.

The Hisbah board is one of the agencies created for the implementation of the Sharia system in the state.

The Director-General of the Board, Alhaji Abba Sufi, said this while fielding questions from newsmen in Kano on Monday.

"The board has commenced preparations for the wedding of 250 divorcees and widows in the second phase of the mass marriage," Sufi said.

He said the state government had set up a committee comprising the State Security Service, the police and district heads in the 44 local government areas to screen the prospective couples.

"This time around we intend to select three young girls who have not married before and two divorcees from each of the 44 local government areas for the exercise," he said.

Sufi said a micro-finance bank and some non-governmental organisations had promised to train the prospective brides in various trades after the marriage.

"Some organisations have also promised to either provide jobs for the husbands or assist them to get employment.

"The governor has also directed the board to target 4,000 widows and divorcees for the mass wedding,' he said.

He said the board had suspended its commander in Gabasawa Local Government Area for including a married couple in the first set of mass wedding of 100 widows and divorces.

According to him, the board has also retrieved all the materials and money given to the' fake couple.' NAN