Nigeria: Cops raid gay wedding in Delta state, at least 67 detained
Story highlights
The police in Delta stormed a hotel in Ekpan where the wedding was being held. Initially, 200 people were arrested, but later 67 of them were detained after initial investigations
Police in Nigeria said on Tuesday (August 29) that they raided a gay wedding in the southern Delta state. According to a report by the news agency Associated Press, the police in Delta stormed a hotel in Ekpan where the wedding was being held. Initially, 200 people were arrested, but later 67 of them were detained after initial investigations, state police spokesperson Bright Edafe told reporters.
Edafe said that homosexuality would never be tolerated in Nigeria. "The amazing part of it was that we saw two suspects, and there is a video recording where they were performing their wedding ceremony. We are in Africa and we are in Nigeria. We cannot copy the Western world because we don’t have the same culture," the police spokesperson further said and pointed out that the suspects would be charged in court at the end of the investigation.
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In a live broadcast of the suspects' parade by the police, one of the arrested said they were not attending the wedding ceremony and were at the hotel for another engagement. Another suspect said he does not identify as a gay person and was arrested while on his way to a fashion show.
Amnesty International condemns arrests
Amnesty International's Nigeria office condemned the arrest 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,” Isa Sanusi, Amnesty International's director in Nigeria, told the Associated Press.
Nigeria is among the African countries which has enacted laws criminalising same-sex relationships. Arrests of gay people are common in the country with a prison sentence of up to 14 years under the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. Accomplices face 10 years in prison.
In the past, activists have accused the Nigerian police of using the same-sex prohibition law to carry out mass arrests that sometimes include straight people.
(With inputs from agencies)
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