Homosexuality: Police Raid Hotel, Arrest Two, Declare One Wanted

The Federal Capital Territory has carried out a raid in an undisclosed Hotel in Àbuja following an anonymous tip and credible intelligence report on 2 December 2022.

The FCT Police Commissioner, Babaji Sunday stated that the policemen arrested one Mr Kelvin Ozoede who is aged 30 and Mr Chibuzor Nze, aged 33 who were allegedly engaging in homosexual activity.

During the preliminary interrogation, the suspect confessed to having another partner who indulged in the said act identified as Jacob Enahoro, aged 29.

Subsequently, the police launched a search for 29-year-old Jacob Enahoro to be brought in for questioning of the alleged act.

Recall that Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill which was signed into law on January 7, 2014, by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, convicts defaulters up to 14 years Imprisonment and also anyone who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies or organisations, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years.

A huge case happened back in 2018 where 47 men were arrested in Lagos for alleged homosexual activity at a hotel/event centre in Egbeda and were subsequently charged to court but the case was thrown out by a judge on October 27 2020.

In enforcing the laws against homosexuality, 53 men were charged to court in Chediya-Zaria on 8th May 2017 for conspiring to celebrate a gay wedding in the Northern part of Nigeria.

Some of the men who appeared in the court were stoned by an angry mob who demanded strict and severe punishment for them even though they pleaded not guilty to the crime.

The hearing was subsequently halted.

The ban on homosexuality brought into effect extortion, mob violence, arbitrary arrest, physical and sexual violence, torture in detention and many more according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a 2016 report on people suspected of homosexual activities.