Amnesty International says the arrest violated a range of human rights of the suspects.
Amnesty International has condemned the arrest of 59 people accused of being homosexuals in Gombe State by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC).
The NSCDC on Monday announced the arrest of the suspects during an event it said was organised by one Bashir Sani where he planned to allegedly marry another man.
Marriage of persons of the same sex is a felony in Nigeria and attracts up to 14 years in prison. No one has, however, been convicted for the offence since the law was passed in 2014.
In a statement by Amnesty International released on Tuesday through its official X handle (formerly Twitter), it said the arrest of the suspects violated “a range of human rights” of the suspects.
It called on the Nigerian authorities to release the suspects immediately.
“The Nigerian authorities must stop these arbitrary and humiliating raids — and stop misusing laws to harass and arrest people accused of same-sex activity. It is appalling that the mere act of dressing style, make-up, hair or sitting in a pair can assume criminal proportions.
“No one should be targeted and arrested because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. Nigerian law enforcement agencies should be prioritising keeping everyone safe, not stoking more discrimination,” the statement noted.
Backstory
Addressing reporters in Gombe on Monday, a spokesperson for the NSCDC, Buhari Sa’ad, said 21 out of the 59 male suspects have confessed to being gays.
He said the suspects were celebrating one of their friends, Bashir Sani, who organised the party with the view of marrying his friend, a man.
“The command has made the arrest of 76 suspects who are suspected homosexuals in the metropolis. They were arrested at Duwa Plaza along Bauchi Road, holding a homosexual birthday party. And in that birthday party, there is the intention to hold a same-sex marriage in the state. So our men, acting on intelligence, raided that place and hence the result of having 76 suspects in our custody,” he said.
In the mainly Muslim north of the country, same-sex marriages may attract the death penalty.
The arrest in Gombe is one of the cases of arrests of people accused of being homosexuals across the country.
In August, 100 people were arrested in Delta State for organising a gay wedding while 11 women were arrested for alleged same-sex marriage in Kano in 2018.
Last year, 19 youths were also arrested for attending a same-sex marriage event in Kano. The suspects were there to witness the wedding of two suspected homosexuals, Abba and Mujahid.
Another crackdown on an alleged same – sex wedding was reported in 2017 in Kaduna State. Fifty-five people were arrested in that instance.