Published 29th August, 2023
GAY ACTS: IJEH, CHARLES, OTHERS WANTED BY DEIN OF AGBOR, AS DELTA POLICE BUSTS GAY WEDDING CEREMONY IN WARRI
The police command in Delta has arrested 67 persons suspected to be homosexuals in Warri, Delta State.
Police commissioner Wale Abass disclosed this while speaking with journalists on Tuesday at the Ekpan Police Station, Warri, Delta State.
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 in Warri.
Mr Abass said the suspects were nabbed during a gay wedding tagged ‘All White Party’ at a popular hotel off Refinery Road, Ekpan in Uvwie Local Government Area, Warri Delta State.
The police commissioner said the suspected homosexuals would be prosecuted in line with Nigeria’s anti-gay law which prohibited same-sex marriage.
According to him, “On August 29 at about 9:00 p.m., the patrol team of the Ekpan Police Station, Warri 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.
The Police Commissioner 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.”
He 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 also mentioned items recovered at the venue to 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, who is a native of Agbor-Nta Community said he was a fashion designer and not a gay.
In a related development, newsmen later confirmed that a man who gave his name as Charles is Ijeh Ebere's gay partner and that both of them have been in the act for many years.
Mr. Ijeh Ebere and his lover, Charles took their heels at the wedding ceremony immediately they sited the police coming to attack them.
"Ijeh Ebere and Charles are hail from Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.
Coming down to the grassroot and traditional levels, the King of Agbor Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Benjamin Ikenchukwu Kiagbor-Ekuzi 1, the Dein of Agbor Kingdom has declared Ijeh Ebere and Charles who is the Hotel Attendant wanted.
He therefore vowed to used them as deterrent to other people in his kingdom whenever they are apprehended.
