Security forces in Nigeria have arrested more than 70 people on allegations that they organised a gay party that included a wedding ceremony between two men.
The arrests occurred on Saturday night in Gombe, a predominantly Muslim state in northern Nigeria, but were confirmed on Monday.
“We apprehended 76 suspected homosexuals holding a birthday party organised by one of them, who was to wed his male bride at the event,” Buhari Saad, a spokesperson for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, told AFP news agency.
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The suspects included 59 men and 17 women, with 21 of the men “willfully confessing being gay”, he added.
It is the latest crackdown on gay people in Nigeria, where a 2014 law prohibited same-sex relationships and marriages.
The legislation introduced a prison sentence of up to 14 years for those convicted of such offences.
In August, security forces arrested 67 people for allegedly attending a gay wedding in the southern Delta state, but a court released them on bail.
SOURCE: BBCNEWS
