Nigeria marries 1,500 couples in mass wedding

Some 1,500 couples got married at a mass wedding organized by Abba Kabir Yusuf, the governor of Kano state, in northern Nigeria .

The regional government described the two-day event as a way to support low-income families and promote social stability.

"The whole idea for the marriage is to help our families and we husbands who are not financially stable to marry; that's why the government is helping us get married," groom Abubakar Aliyu Musa told the Associated Press.

This is the second time Yusuf's administration has organized a mass wedding.

According to Kano's regional government, each bride received a dowry of 200,000 naira ($147, €127) and support to set up a small business.

The couples were also given household items including beds, mattresses and blankets.

The couples underwent screening and counseling before the wedding.

Governor Yusuf described the program as a "bold social intervention aimed at restoring hope and supporting dignified family life in Kano."