Nigerian police arrest 57 men for allegedly having sex
People convicted of having gay sex can spend up to 14 years in prison
By Steve Brown
Nigerian police have arrested 57 men on suspicion of having sex.
The men were reportedly attending a birthday party in a hotel in Lagos when police allegedly received a tip-off and stormed the premises over the weekend, according to Nigerian outlet Premium Times.
Imohimi Edgal, the Abia state’s police commissioner, said: “On arrival, young men numbering about 80 were met in a hall taking different types of drinks including banned substance like Tramadol [and] Shisha laced with substances suspected to be marijuana.
“When the men sighted the police, they took to their heels but the police arrested 57 of them.”
However one of the men arrested said the police accused them of being homosexual despite women being at the party as well.
He said: “It was a birthday party and majority of us don’t know one another. I was invited by my friend Muyiwa for the party, and we were not only guys in the party, [a] few ladies were with us and other ladies were in the hotel rooms getting dressed for the party.
“The police just barged in and arrested people; I was outside the hall buying a drink when I was arrested.
“They also arrested [a] few ladies but they let go of the ladies. The police didn’t allow us [to] know our offence until we reached the police station yesterday.
“At first, the police told us that they found some illegal drugs with us, such as shisha, tramadol and others, but those that owned [these] came out and claimed possession of [them].
“They also accused us of being homosexuals. I am not one, I went there to party. They also accused us of being initiated but no initiation material was found with us or at the venue.”
In Nigeria, people convicted of having gay sex can spend up to 14 years in prison but in 12 northern states with Sharia Law, they can be stoned to death.