A petition letter has been written to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun to ungently wade into allege intimidation, harrassment and probably of untime death by his officers and men. This is even as the petitioners urged the concerned officers to revoke their utterances.
Information at our disposal described the ugly development occurred 30th of December, 2023 led to bitter cry where some people claimed to have been illegally arrested and detained cried out from police detention over unfounded allegations, describing their arrest and detention as a tampering on their fundamental human right as Nigeria citizens.
Disclosing Reporters on behalf of the detainees, Chibuzo Akpan, Akinola Michael, Michael Samuel, Alex, Alphonsus Ikegwuonu,Ismail Abdulkadri, John Ankeli, Chris Nwabuzo, and Sunday Adebayo, Ebuka , among others, Raphael accused the security agency of alleged intimidation and harrassment over their involvement in same sex marriage.
This bad occurrence must not swept under carpet, Expressing his grievances at a news conference shortly after their release from B Division police station, Makurdi, where they were allegedly being detained over alleged involvement in same sex mm engagement. “The bad treatment given to us must not be in vain is the reason we are calling Inspector General of Police to come to their help. He further call on media organizations to help leverage on the issue to get justice.
He also called on Benue state government to save them from security agencies, and untimely death.
“We comprise of professionals and responsible citizens. “For me as a person and human, I’m a bisexual human creature, meaning I can have sex with either a male or a female, I realise this right from my childhood age.
“We tried to formed a clandestine known as the Rainbow Club; which is basically for LGBTQ personality which later failed because school authorities were hunting after such group.
“We held this engagement ceremony in a (City Bay, located around Savannah roundabout, High Level, Makurdi, Benue State precisely on 30/12/2023.
“It was during the ceremony that the police busted and arrested us, but were later released on bail, with the instructions that we must all report at the police station on 04/01/2024 for further investigation.
“The engagement was between two members Chekwube and Raphel where 45 club members were arrested, including myself.
It could be recalled that the long existing Nigeria Criminal Code of Chapter 42, Section 214 states that, “any person who has carnal knowledge of another person against the order of nature, or permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, is guilty of a felony and liable to imprisonment for fourteen (14) years.
“In 2014, the then President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan signed into law the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2014 which provides jail terms of up to 10 years for homosexuals and also punishes people who register, operate or participate in same sex clubs, societies and organizations, or directly makes a public show of same sex relationships in Nigeria.
“Because of these laws, the vast majority homophobic population of Nigeria have been emboldened to hunt down and lynch real or perceived LGBTQ people.
“LGBTQ folks like myself live in constant fear knowing this might be my fate any day. I feel I have been stripped of my human rights to be who I am without fear of fatalities.
“It is on this premise that am unjustly persecuted, hence crying out for protection from untimely death, imprisonment, punishment and discrimination from the police.
“I therefore call on the Inspector General of Police and Benue state government to save us from untimely death, humiliation, among several other punishment.
