Two suspected homosexuals were arrested and the hotel has been cordoned off while investigation continues. They are in custody of the Lagos State Task Force and will be charged to court soon,” he said.
A resident of the area who identified himself as wala told the newspaper that the police nabbed the suspects around 3:30pm on the 8th June 2023.
He added that this is not the first time the hotel is harbouring homosexuals.
The suspects arrested are Mr Timothy Ebube age 25 years from owerri North local government area and Mr Amos Roxwell Ola age 29 years from Ikere local government area of Ekiti state.
One of the suspect in police custody Mr Timothy Ebube, when asked how he became gay make a confession to the lagos state police that he started affair with one Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi, From Edo state who was the first to introduced him to act of homosexuality, when question how he met Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi, he said that the first boyfriend Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi a native of Edo state who he meet on dating App. (Grindr) in November 2018 and he approached him with chat message to be his partner.
In June 2019,the Edo State police command declared Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi for act of homosexuality with one Late Musa Ibrahim, From Reno local government area of Kano state, in the scene of the incident Late Mr Musa Ibrahim was beaten by the community angry youth of Aiyegunle in Akoko Edo local government area of Edo state but before he was rush to undisclosed hospital he died, but the said Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi escaped before the security personal get to the scene of the crime.
Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi has been on police wanted listed in June 2019 when the Edo state police command declared him wanted for act of homosexuality, said the lagos state police spokesperson. Nigeria is one of the countries that prohibits homosexuality.
While speaking at a workshop in June, Garba Abari, director-general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), had expressed sadness over the reported cases of homosexuality in the country.
“The wearing of tattoos, dreadlocks hairstyle, sagging trousers and the painting of hair have become a vogue among our young men and women,” he had said.
Under the Nigerian criminal code, individuals detained over accusations of being gay face potential imprisonment of up to 14 years. While LGBTQ+ Nigerians have historically been criminalized under colonial-era prohibitions of gay sex, the situation has grown more tenuous over the past several decades.
In 2013, Nigeria strenghtened its ban on homosexuality with the passage of the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA). While the law’s name suggests that it only relates to marriage equality, its scope is actually much more broad. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the legislation bars gay couples from cohabitating and prohibits any kind of “public show of same sex amorous relationship.” It also forbids LGBTQ+ organizations from operating openly in the country.
Police violence directed at Nigeria’s LGBTQ+ community has dramatically increased in the 8 years since the law was enacted, according to reports.
In May 2023 , at least 47 people accused of being gay were arrested after police raided a birthday party and alleged that attendees had engaged in “homosexual initiation.” Although a judge ultimately released the men last year, their case was dropped due to a lack of responsiveness from the prosecution instead of a full acquittal. That means those charged could be rearrested at any time under the same allegations.
Persecution of LGBTQ+ Nigerians has particularly escalated under the presidency of anti-gay leader Ahmed Bola Tinubu, according to the Initiative for Equal Rights (TIER), a human rights group based in the country. According to a 2022 report, there had been a total of 643 human rights violations over the past year — despite low reporting rates among trans people, intersex individuals, and women.
The lagos state police command on briefing the media on 9th June 2023, in Ikeja Lagos State, the police spokesperson said that the two Suspects will be charged to court immediately for persecution which is punishable by Law, 14 years imprisonment according to Nigeria Law, the command Further states that Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi, who has been on the run since June 2019, will be track and arrested to face the Law, the police said they are working with other assistant security Agency in the country to make sure their is no escape route for the fleeing suspect Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi.
The Command also announced the arrest of a serial rapist, Onuorah Obi of No 1, Buari Oloto Street, Ago Okota on June 6th 2023
“The victim, ‘f’, 25, of Ago Okota reported that the suspect raped her and recorded her nude pictures and videos.
“The police swung into action and arrested the suspect. When a search was conducted,” the Command said.
The command appeals to well meaning Nigerians to report Mr Melvin Omokhafe Ogbedebi to the nearest police state anywhere he is find in the country.
