The police command in Delta has arrested 67 persons suspected to be homosexuals in Ekpan Community in Uvwie LGA.

Police commissioner Wale Abass said this while speaking with journalists on Tuesday at the Ekpan Police Station.

Represented by the spokesperson for the command, DSP Bright Edafe, Mr Abass said the suspects were apprehended on Sunday by a crack team of police operatives attached to the Ekpan division.

Mr Abass said the suspects were nabbed during a gay wedding tagged ‘all white party’ at a popular hotel off Refinery Road, Uvwie LGA.

The police commissioner said the suspected homosexuals would be prosecuted in line with Nigeria’s anti-gay law which prohibited same-sex marriage.

“On August 27 at about 9:00 p.m., the patrol team of the Ekpan Police Station, while on a patrol intercepted a male cross-dresser suspect who claimed to be an actor. Upon interrogation, he confessed that he is a member of a certain gay club and that he was on his way to join his fellow members for a gay marriage ceremony,” stated the police.

Mr Abass added, “Acting on intelligence gathered, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Ekpan division, CSP Aliyu Shaba, raided the hotel where some suspected gay members were holding a gay marriage ceremony.”

Mr Abass said the suspects upon sighting the police took to their heels, saying however, that the operatives were able to apprehend 67 of them.

“Same sex marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013 kicked against gay in Nigeria. It is a grievous office. We cannot copy the culture of the Western world and we must follow the rules of our land. Anti-gay law has been passed in Nigeria, no resident of the land has the right to go against the laws of the land,” explained the police chief. “I can guarantee that they will be charged to court. We are not taking it lightly. It is a clear case, though, they are still presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the competent court.”

The commissioner urged parents to monitor their children closely to know the type of people they associate with. He said the arrest and subsequent arraignment of the suspects would serve as a warning to others.

Mr Abass said items recovered at the venue included one codeine bottle, three cups of refined Canadian loud, five sachets of SK, one sachet of tramadol, four tablets of molly drug, one crusher and gay marriage ceremonial dresses.

One of the suspects, Daniel Pius, said he was a fashion designer and not a gay.

“I am not a gay, I am a fashion designer, I do makeup and other things that relate to female attire,” he said.

(NAN)