Abigail ErhiagbojePersonnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) raided a relaxation center in Gombe on Saturday, and arrested 76 individuals suspected of having a “gay party” and the intended marriage of two male lovers.
This was made known on Monday by the NSCDC Spokesman in Gombe, Buhari Saad, who said: “We apprehended 76 suspected homosexuals… while holding a birthday party organised by one of them who was to wed his male bride at the event.
The suspects included 59 men and 17 women, with 21 of the men “wilfully confessing being gay.”
Lawyers for those arrested could not immediately be contacted for comment or confirmation.
“The would-be groom was arrested while the bride-to-be fled along with other guests.
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“We will charge them to court to answer for their actions once the investigation is concluded,” Saad added.
In Nigeria, a law had been passed against same-sex marriage in 2014. It stipulated a penalty of 14 years jail term for anyone caught in the illegal act.
Aside from being a punishable crime in Nigeria, the Sharia law practiced in Northern Nigeria considers homosexuality as a crime punishable by death, although the law has never been enforced.
The NSCDC spokesman refused to comment on whether the suspects would be charged to the normal court or under the Sharia law.
Over the years, security personnel have raided several suspected gay weddings in northern areas in Nigeria, but none of those arrested have been convicted.
An example of such case is the one that took place in December 2022, when 19 men and women in their 20s were apprehended in Kano by a Sharia police called Hisbah on the charges that they organised a gay wedding.
However, the suspects were only reprimanded and released without being taken to court or punished according to the Sharia law.
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