Police in northern Nigeria arrest two men for homosexuality
Fight over money led to arrest and exposure to local media
Two men in Gombe State in northern Nigeria were arrested July 11 on homosexuality charges after they allegedly fought over a payment of 15,000 naira (about $9) for sex.
The arrest came in the area of Nigeria that is ruled by Islamic sharia law, which calls for homosexuals to be stoned to death. That penalty has often been threatened, but apparently has not been imposed, at least not in recent years.
LGBTQ rights activist Melanie Nathan reported on the arrests. Below is an abridged and modestly edited version of her article, “Nigerian Police Arrest Two Men In Sharia Law Gombe State for Homosexuality”, which was published in the O-Blog-Dee blog:
Nigerian Police Arrest Two Men In Sharia Law Gombe State for Homosexuality
The Gombe State Police Command has arrested two men for allegedly engaging in homosexual acts, police spokesperson Buhari Abdullahi announced on July 16. Police paraded the suspect — Hassan Abubakar, 25, and Jibrin Ibrahim, 22 — before the media.
Police said the suspects came to their attention following a fight between them after one of them had anal sex with the other and refused to pay him N15,000 as agreed.
The aggrieved suspect snatched the phone of his partner for refusing to pay him, after which they engaged in a violent fight with machetes, which attracted the attention of community members, police said.
After a distress call was received from the ward head of the area at 10:40 p.m. on July 11, officers from the Akko division rushed to the scene and arrested the suspects, police said.
The suspects were taken to the hospital for medical attention and then were taken into police custody where they confessed to the crime.The men will be charged in court after an ongoing investigation is completed, Abdullahi said.
Speaking with journalists, Jibrin declared that he was introduced to homosexuality by Hassan.
See video of police report and confession HERE.
Nathan commented:
It is sad to see a video report publicly displayed where an accused is not given due process and the an opportunity for a lawyer to help him remain silent. This video reflects that.
It is clear and a common occurrence for one detainee to accuse another of “bringing him into homosexuality”, thinking such confessions and turning state’s witness will save him from the likelihood of death by stoning. However, the admission without legal advice is prejudicial.
