Lagos Police Arrest Two Women for Alleged Violation of Anti-Same-Sex Laws

Two women, including a 35-year-old, Mrs. Onua Blessing Ada Nky, alongside her friend of the same age, Mrs. Ezenwankwo Peace Amuche, are currently in Lagos police custody over allegations of violating the country’s same-sex marriage prohibition act of 2013.

According to the police, the suspects, believed to be married women, were arrested at Ecoghas Hotel, located in the Ago-Okota area of the state, following a complaint from the hotel manager, who received a tip-off from one of his staff members.

“The manager of Ecoghas Hotel, Ago Okota, Lagos, came to the station and reported that while one of the staff of the hotel was cleaning the environment of the hotel, she caught one Mrs. Onua Blessing Ada Nky (f), 35 years old and one Mrs. Ezenwankwo Peace Amuche (f), 35 years old, engaging in sexual activity with each other in the hotel room.

“Immediately after the complaint, Detectives from this Police Station rushed to the scene of the crime and arrested the suspects for questioning. Upon their arrest and arrival at the station, Mrs. Blessing Ada Nky and Mrs. Ezenwankwo Peace Amuche both confessed to the crime.”

Nigeria has strict laws prohibiting homosexuality, with convicted individuals facing up to 14 years imprisonment. In 12 northern states operating under Sharia law, including Kano, the penalty can be severe, with death by stoning.

The arrest in Lagos is the latest in a long line of anti-LGBT actions by the government.

In August 2022, police raided a hotel in Lagos and arrested 57 men on suspicion of having gay sex; just weeks after six men in the south-eastern state of Abia were arrested for the same reason.

The 57 men, who said they were simply attending a birthday party, were charged by a court with three counts of conspiracy, belonging to a secret cult and unlawful gathering, and were each held on bail of ₦200,000 (£430).

Last year, 42 men were arrested at the Lagos hotel for having gay sex, just months after 45 out of a group of 53 people arrested on suspicion of attending a same-sex wedding jumped bail.

It is relatively common for people to be targeted by the police for this reason in Nigeria. A total of 12 men were arrested by the Hisbah in Kano in 2015 for planning a gay wedding. The men pleaded that they had been celebrating a birthday, not a wedding.