More than 46 ladies detained after arrest at a hotel in southern Lagos Nigeria for public display of love and homosexuality
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Police in Nigeria said Thursday they detained at least 46 ladies at a birthday party of the wife of a Lagos Lawyer and Human Rights activist, Ms Arike Okenile in one of the mass detentions targeting homosexuality, which is outlawed in the West African country.
The “LGBTQI+ suspects” were arrested in southern Lagos state at about 5 p.m. on Thursday at a birthday event where the suspects were seen in a public display of love and committing acts of homosexuality amongst others, state police spokesman Mattew Onoja told reporters. He said that homosexuality “will never be tolerated” in Nigeria.
Arrests of LGBTQI+ people are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where the suspects 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.
Amnesty International’s Nigeria office condemned the arrests and called for “an immediate end to this witch-hunt.”
“In a society where corruption is rampant, this (same-sex) law banning same sex relationships is increasingly being used for harassment, extortion and blackmail of people,” Osai Ojigho, the organization’s director in Nigeria, told The Primesongs Press.
”The shocking part of it, said the arresting officers, was that we saw a few of the suspects kissing and fondling with one another’s breasts. “We are in Africa and we are in Nigeria. We cannot copy the Western world because we don’t have the same culture.”
They reiterated that police officers in Nigeria “cannot fold their hands” and watch LGBTQI+ people openly express their sexual orientation in the country.
“This is not something that will be allowed in Nigeria,” said Mattew Onoja, adding that the suspects will be charged to court at the end of the investigation.
In a live broadcast of the suspects’ parade by the police, Ms Arike Okenile said she was at the hotel for her birthday party and her group were merely felicitating with her.
Another suspect said she does not identify as a lesbian or bisexual person and was arrested while on her way to a fashion show.
“On my way going to the event, police attacked me and took me to the police station,” she said. “They said I have committed an offense against the constitution of the land.”
Activists have in the past accused the Nigerian police of using the same-sex prohibition law to carry out mass arrests that sometimes include straight people, including in 2017 when more than 40 people were arrested for allegedly being gay.
Nigeria is one of a growing list of African countries that have enacted laws criminalizing same-sex relationships, the latest being Uganda whose newly signed law carries a death penalty in some instances.
