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Nigerian police reportedly arrested at least 57 people suspected of being gay at a party over the weekend - as homosexuality is banned in that country.
The police raid reportedly took place at a hotel in Lagos on Sunday morning, with mostly men attending the party, according to BBC.
“When the men sighted the police, they took to their heels but the police arrested 57 of them,” a Premium Times report quoted the state police commissioner Imohimi Edgal as saying.
Edgal said that police acted as “intelligence gathered revealed that some youths will be initiated into a Gay/Homosexual Club".
One of the arrested suspects James Obialy told News Agency of Nigeria, “I am not a gay, I am a dancer and I was there to perform before I was arrested”.
“It was a birthday party and majority of us don’t know one another. I was invited by my friend Muyiwa for the party, and we were not only guys in the party, few ladies were with us and other ladies were in the hotel rooms getting dressed for the party,” another arrested suspect Wealth Olasunkanmi said, according to Premium Times.
Homosexual acts in Nigeria are punishable by law and one can face up to 14 years in jail.
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