Nigeria: Police arrest over 100 for attending same-sex marriage

Nigerian Police have arrested more than 100 people in the country's Delta state for attending a suspected same-sex marriage.

Nigerian Police arrest over 100 people in Delta for attending a suspected same-sex marriage. Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

This is one of the major mass arrest incidents reported from the country targeting the LGBTQIA+ community.

A police spokesperson in the southern Delta state told reporters as quoted by CNN that on Tuesday 67 people will be prosecuted for "allegedly conducting and attending a same-sex wedding ceremony."

Nigeria has banned same-sex marriage.

The African country's strict penal code approves a punishment of up to 14 years in prison for people who are convicted of engaging in a same-sex civil union.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International Nigeria asked the police to release the arrested people.

"Amnesty International is calling on the Nigeria’s Delta state police command to immediately release the over 100 men, arrested and paraded to the media, over allegedly organising gay marriage and put an immediate end to this witch-hunt,"Amnesty International Nigeria wrote on X.