11 Muslims were detained by Islamic police in Nigeria after they were found eating during the Ramadan fasting period.

The Islamic police, known as Hisbah, arrested the suspects following tip-offs from witnesses.

“We got 11 persons on Tuesday including a lady selling groundnuts who was seen eating from her wares, and some persons alerted us,” Hisbah spokes person Lawal Fagge said.

“The other 10 were men and were arrested across the city especially close to markets where a lot of activities happen,” he added.

The suspects were however forgiven and set free after they promised to observe the fasting rules. The authorities called upon their families to ensure that they observe the Ramadan Fast to the latter.

“For some of them, we had to see their relatives or guardians to have family monitor them,” Fagge said.

The spokesperson further said that while non-muslim are exempted from the practice, they would be apprehended if found selling food to Muslims during the fasting period.

“We do not arrest non-Muslims because this does not concern them, and the only time they could be guilty of a crime is when we find out they cook food to sell to Muslims that are supposed to be fasting,” Fagge added.

This year’s Ramadan kicked off from the evening of  March 11-12 and will be running to April 9-10.

Ramadan is the 9 month in the Muslim calendar and is the  holiest month. This is because it is believed that it is the time when the Quran was sent from heaven to Prophet Muhammad . It involves various religious practices, aimed at seeking blessings of Allah, growth and  introspection.

Early in the morning, Muslims observe what is called Sehir, that is; they eat whatever they want to eat before embarking on fasting the whole day, eating completely nothing. In the evening they break the fast(Iftar) and eat meals and water.