The Ogun State Command of the Nigerian Police has arrested and paraded several women, whom they suspect of being lesbians, at various guest houses in different parts of the state. Among those detained is Lola Adeyinka, who stated that she was a “sex partner” to Edeghonghon Emmanuella Oribhabor, a woman from Edo State who is reportedly at large.
Adeyinka, speaking to reporters, said she had been a lesbian since her secondary school days and had a female friendship with Oribhabor. The spokesperson of the Ogun Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, held a press briefing in Eleweran, Abeokuta, where he confirmed the arrests. He stated that the law of the land prohibits same-sex relationships and vowed that the police would “go in full force” to deal with anyone caught in the act.
Oyeyemi, a superintendent of police, said police operatives had previously intercepted a cross-dresser who confessed that he was a member of a lesbian club. “The Police have always been saying unequivocally that Ogun State, and Nigeria as a whole, is no place for any sort of same-sex relationship; that marriage is valid only when it is contracted between a man and a woman,” he said. He further warned that any explicit or implicit public display of affection between people of the same sex is prohibited in the state. Those who violate the law will be brought to justice in accordance with the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013.
Enforcing the Anti-Same Sex Law
Nigeria’s anti-same sex law, which the President Goodluck Jonathan administration enacted in January 2014, mandates a 14-year prison term for anyone convicted of having sex with members of the same sex. The Nigerian government tested the law for the first time in December 2019, when a court arraigned 47 men arrested by the police in a Lagos hotel the previous year. Authorities accused them of publicly displaying affection for members of the same sex.
See Also: Suspected Lesbians Arrainged, VICTORIA OLADELE, Others Wanted
