Security forces in Nigeria have detained over 70 young individuals on allegations of arranging a same-sex wedding in northeastern Gombe state, according to a security spokesperson on Monday.
The mass arrests mark the most recent crackdown on the LGBTQ community in the country.
Same-sex marriage is prohibited in Nigeria, as established by a 2014 law. Furthermore, Gombe, being one of the predominantly Muslim northern states, follows Islamic Sharia law alongside the federal and state legal systems.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), an official paramilitary organization, conducted a raid on a recreational venue in Gombe, the state capital, on Saturday. They apprehended individuals whom they accused of participating in a “gay party” and planning a wedding between two male partners, as stated by Buhari Saad, the NSCDC spokesman in Gombe.
“We apprehended 76 suspected homosexuals… while holding a birthday party organised by one of them who was to wed his male bride at the event,” Saad said.
The group of suspects consisted of 59 men and 17 women, and among the men, 21 “wilfully confessing being gay”, he noted.
Legal representatives for those who were detained were not immediately reachable for comment or confirmation.
The prospective groom was apprehended, while the bride-to-be managed to escape along with other attendees, the official reported.
“We will charge them to court to answer for their actions once investigation is concluded,” Saad said.
In northern Nigeria, homosexuality is considered a capital offense under Sharia law, although the death penalty has never been carried out.
In 2014, Nigeria enacted legislation that criminalized same-sex marriages and the advocacy of civil unions.
Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act imposes potential penalties of up to 14 years in prison for individuals found to be involved in a same-sex union.
Saad refrained from disclosing whether the suspects would face charges in a Sharia court or a conventional common law court.
Security personnel have conducted multiple raids on suspected same-sex weddings in northern Nigeria in the past few years. However, none of the individuals apprehended in these operations have been convicted.
In December of the previous year, 19 individuals in their twenties were detained in Kano, the largest city in northern Nigeria, by Sharia police known as Hisbah. They were apprehended on accusations of arranging a same-sex wedding.
Nonetheless, the suspects were cautioned and subsequently released without being formally charged in court.
