76 people arrested in Nigeria for attending an alleged gay wedding

Nigerian security forces arrested 76 people over the weekend, accusing them of organizing a gay wedding.

Daily Trust reports that on Saturday members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), a paramilitary agency of the country’s government, raided a birthday party being held in a “relaxation spot” in Gombe, the capital of Gombe State in northern Nigeria.

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200 arrested & dozens paraded in front of reporters as Nigerian police raid gay wedding

Detainees, who said they were attending a fashion show, could face up to 14 years in prison under Nigerian law.

“We apprehended 76 suspected homosexuals… while holding a birthday party organized by one of them who was due to wed his male bride at the event,” said NSCDC spokesperson Buhari Saad.

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Saad said that one of the suspected grooms was arrested while the other fled with other guests. Of the 59 men and 17 women arrested, 21 of the men “willfully confess[ed] being gay,” according to Saad.  

Homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria. The country’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, which was signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, makes same-sex relationships punishable by up to 14 years in prison. In predominantly Muslim areas of northern Nigeria, homosexuality is punishable by death under Sharia law, though death penalties passed by Sharia courts must be approved by the state governor. According to Daily Trust, the punishment has never been enforced.

Saad did not say whether those arrested on Saturday would be charged under Sharia law. “We will charge them to court to answer for their actions once an investigation is concluded,” he said.

Saturday’s raid was just the latest in a series of recent mass arrests targeting the country’s LGBTQ+ community. Last December, Islamic police in northern Nigeria similarly raided a same-sex wedding, arresting 19 people. At the time, a spokesperson for the police force said that those arrested would not be formally charged but would be encouraged to change their “lifestyle” through “counseling.”

In August, police in Nigeria’s Delta State raided a hotel where they said a gay wedding was taking place, arresting hundreds of people and detaining 67 after initial investigations. Several people who were detained and paraded in front of reporters said the event they were attending was a fashion show or an “all-white party.”

As Africa News notes Amnesty International has condemned such raids as “witch hunts.”

“In a society where corruption is endemic, the law prohibiting same-sex relationships is increasingly being used for harassment, extortion and blackmail by law enforcement officials and other members of the public,” the organization said.