Incidentally, Odesanya, who worked with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Ogun State Command was said to have been having sexual intercourse with another man hence contravening the lay down rules of the organisation and by extention, breaking the Nigerian law. Reports indicate that Odesanya has since left Nigeria to avoid incarceration.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, had, before leaving office, signed the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act; the action which the Amnesty International had consistently criticised and condemned. ” With the stroke of pen and little hesitation, he unleashed the restriction of basic rights in the country since the end of the military dictatorship in 1999”, Amnesty said in a statement issued in Abuja.
According to AI, as soon as the law was passed, scores of people suspected of engaging in the act were rounded up by the Nigerian police and the Hisba (Sharia police), on the street, arrested at their homes and taken into custody, the AI report added; most of those that were arrested were held in isolation, without access to a lawyer.
In July 2017, more than 40 men were arrested in Lagos for performing homosexual acts, police say. One hotel was reportedly cordoned off while the investigation was carried out. Dolapo Badmos, the spokeswoman for the Lagos State Police Command, therefore warned gay people living in the country to leave or risk criminal prosecution.
She made the comments on her personal Instagram account. Homosexual acts are punishable by up to 14 years in jail in Nigeria, while gay marriage and displays of same-sex affection are also banned.
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