The Delta State Police Command has arrested about 200 men for at a wedding event, which is suspected to be a gay wedding on Monday, August 28, 2023.
The state command’s spokesperson, DSP Bright Edafe, revealed in a statement on Tuesday, August 29, that officers had initially confronted the first suspect on Sunday, August 27 for dressing as a woman, despite being a man.
The suspect, who claimed to be an actor, after being detained and interrogated at a police station, allegedly confessed to belonging to a “gay society”.
The suspect further told interrogators he was on his way to a wedding ceremony taking place at a hotel.
Officers raided the facility around 2 am on Monday and arrested “about 200 suspects, majority of them dressed like females.”
One of the suspects was dressed as a bride and another as a groom, and police officers have acquired a video recording of the alleged wedding ceremony.
After a screening of the suspects, the command paraded 67 of them while officers continue investigations.
“We’re bringing this out to the world to note, especially to Nigerians, that we’re in Africa and Nigeria. We cannot copy the Western world.
“We’re in Nigeria and we’ll follow the culture and rules of the land. We cannot watch and fold our arms, and I can guarantee the suspects will be charged to court,” Edafe said.
Only one of the suspects admitted to being gay “for four years”, while other suspects told journalists that the allegations by the police are false.
They claim that they were only attending an all-white party.
Nigeria’s controversial law back in the spotlight
Edafe said the Monday raid is a direct consequence of Nigeria’s controversial Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) President Goodluck Jonathan signed in 2014.
The law prescribes 14 years imprisonment for anyone who engages in a same-sex marriage contract and 10 years for anyone who “registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisation, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same sex amorous relationship in Nigeria.”
