Despite the four-wife limitation, there have been numerous indications that many Nigerians bypass this law, such as with Muhammadu Bello Masaba, an 84-year-old Islamic cleric who was accused of illegal marriage due to his exceeding number of spouses, in which he had 86 wives.[11] The charges were later withdrawn by the Niger State Sharia commission, with Masaba able to retain all of his spouses.