More than 10,000 Muslim women have registered their desire to be married at a mass ceremony in Nigeria's northern city of Kano, religious official Abba Sufi has said.

The Hizba board, the main Islamic authority in the predominantly Muslim state, arranges the ceremony in a bid to reduce the number of single women.

It introduces the women to possible husbands and leaves them to make the final decision.

Some of the women said they had searched but couldn't find a suitable partner. They had, therefore, turned to the Hizba for help.

Others said they had turned down marriage proposals because they couldn’t afford the cost of a wedding and have now decided to marry at the Hiza-organised ceremony.

Mr Sufi, who is a senior Hiza member, said he expected the number of women seeking to marry to rise by the time the next ceremony takes place.

No date for it has still been set.

A total of 5,000 men and women have been married since mass weddings were introduced in Kano in 2012. (bbc.co.uk)

•Photo shows Governor Abudullahi Ganduje of Kano.