By Tife Owolabi
YENAGOA (Reuters) – Nigerian police raided a gay wedding, which is illegal in the country, in the southern city of Warri in Delta state, and arrested 67 people, authorities said in a statement, following a tipoff from a person who knew of the event.
The tipoff about the ceremony came during police interrogation on Aug. 27 of a male cross-dresser, who was dressed as a female, Delta police spokesman Edafe Bright said in a statement late on Tuesday. The statement didn’t say when the raid took place.
In Nigeria, like in most parts of Africa, homosexuality is generally viewed as unacceptable, and a 2014 anti-gay law took effect despite international condemnation. Cross-dressing is not illegal but tends to be socially not accepted.
“The policemen chased and arrested a total number of 67 suspects both male and female for allegedly conducting and attending a same-sex wedding ceremony,” Bright said.
Efforts were underway to arrest others who fled the scene, Bright said.
Africa’s most populous nation’s anti-gay law includes a prison term of up to 14 years for those convicted, and bans gay marriage, same-sex relationships, and membership of gay rights groups.
(Reporting by Tife Owolabi; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
