Police in Nigeria said Tuesday they detained at least 67 people celebrating a gay wedding in one of the largest mass detentions targeting homosexuality, which is outlawed in the West African country.
The “gay suspects” were arrested in southern Delta state’s Ekpan town at about 2 a.m. on Monday at an event where two of them were married, spokesman Delta Police Command, Bright Edafe told reporters. He said that homosexuality “will never be tolerated” in Nigeria.
Arrests of gay people are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where gay people can face up to 14 years in prison under the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. Accomplices face 10 years in prison. Enacted in 2013, the law has been condemned locally and internationally though it is also supported by many in the country.
Police in Delta stormed a hotel in Ekpan where the gay wedding was being held and initially arrested 200 people, Edafe told reporters. Later, 67 of them were detained after initial investigations, he said.
He spoke at a police station where the suspects were being paraded.
According to police statement, on, the 27th of August, 2023 at about 2100hrs, operatives of the divisional patrol team attached to Ekpan Division intercepted a male cross-dresser who claimed to be an actor; upon interrogation, he confessed that he is a member of a certain gay club and that he was on his way to join his fellow members for a gay marriage ceremony. Acting on intelligence gathered, the Divisional Police Officer, CSP Aliyu Shaba, raided Teebolus Hotel off Refinery Road Ekpan Warri where some suspected gay members were reportedly holding a gay marriage ceremony. As the operatives arrived at the said hotel, the gay members immediately took to flight, scampering in different directions. The policemen chased and arrested a total number of sixty-seven suspects both male and female for allegedly conducting and attending a same-sex wedding ceremony between Daniel Pius ‘m’(the groom) aged 22yrs old and Maxwel Ohwonohwo ‘m’ (bride) aged 20yrs. The venue of the illicit event was searched, and the following items were recovered at the scene: one codeine bottle, three cups of refined Canadian loud, five sachets of SK, one sachet of tramadol, four tablets of molly drug, one crusher, gay marriage ceremonial dresses. During investigation, one of the suspects named Abel Daniel ‘m’ aged 23 yrs stated that while he was under the influence of alcohol, one male suspect who is at large had sex with him through his anus at the hotel. The suspects and exhibits are in custody and efforts are intensified to ensure the arrest of the fleeing members for possible prosecution.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Wale Abass, states unequivocally that Delta state is no place for any sort of same-sex relationship; that marriage is valid only when it is contracted between a man and a woman. He further warns that explicit or implicit public show of amorous relationships between people of the same sex is prohibited in the state; that any act of defiance is detrimental and deviants would be brought to book in accordance with Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013.
CP Wale Abass encourages members of the public to help the police uphold the moral standards of the society by being conscious of the environment, and never hesitate to provide credible and prompt information that will aid the maintenance of serenity within the command. Members of the public are also entreated to call the police via the dedicated phone lines or reach out to the Police Public Relations Office for necessary action.
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