…As suspects deny gay allegation
The Lagos State Police command on Monday paraded 57 gay suspects allegedly arrested while carrying out initiation ceremony at a hotel in Egbeda area of Lagos following credible information from one of their partners, the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC).
The Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Mr. Imohimi Edgal who disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos said that on receipt of the information that that some youths, Males, would be initiated into a gay homosexual club between 0100hrs and 0200hrs at Kelly Ann Hotel and Event Centre located at No. 3-7 Aderenle Street, Egbeda, he quickly instructed the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) of Shasha and Idimu to ensure the arrest of the suspects.
Imohimi stated that following his instruction, the DPOs Shasha and Idimu stormed the venue at about 0200hrs and on arrival, young men numbering over 80 were met in a hall taking different types of drinks including the banned substance Tramadol and Shisha laced with substances suspected to be marijuana.
“As soon as they sighted the police, of course, they ran in different directions. However, the police were able to arrest 57 of them. We all know that homosexualism is an action contrary to section 1 subsection 1 of Same Sex Marriage Act of 2014.
“Now there is something very worrisome about this arrest. It is not only worrisome because it contravenes the laws of the land specifically section 1 subsection 1 of Same Sex Marriage Act of 2014, it is also worrisome because we all have to begin to guard very jealously, the moral fabric of our society.
“Even though homosexualism is an offense, arranging elaborate initiation rite to initiate young men as homosexuals is to say the least very worrisome. It is the duty of everybody not only the police to ensure that such anti-social behaviours, such social vices; such crimes are checked so that we can create communities that protect our children from such deviant behavior that are against the law”, he said.
He informed that all the 57 suspects, all male were being investigated and would be charged to court on conclusion of investigations.
However, some of the suspects who spoke to journalists denied any involvement in the alleged initiation into gay club saying that some of them were at the hotel to attend a wedding ceremony earlier in the day and were lodging in the hotel while some of them were equally at the hotel for a birthday party that was to take place that night.
One of the suspects, Samuel Olarotimi, 26 who spoke to journalists on the arrest denied being a gay adding that a friend was having a birthday party and invited them to the party which was where the police arrested.
He noted that contrary to the claims by the police that it was only males that were at the hotel during the arrest, there were some ladies who equally attended the party some of whom were arrested by the police and later released that same night.
According to him,” There were girls, the girls were in the room and we were in the halls. Everybody was inside the hall with two other ladies, others were inside the hotel rooms changing their clothes, getting prepared for the birthday and when we first get to the birthday party, everybody was inside but the guys had to come out to make contributions for the gate pass, some people were outside but the people that have contributed were the people that were inside.
“They have not even started the party, it was only music that was playing at the moment and everybody was just sitting down and the ladies were the ones that took the first seats at the front which was the high table. When they arrested us, they caught about three ladies, other escaped and some guys with us escaped”.
Olarotimi, a graduate of Mass Communication from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos said that the gate pass which they were paying before the arrest was N500 even as he said that they were arrested late Saturday night, 25th of August, 2018.
Also speaking, another suspect, Wealth Olasukanmi, 25, also a graduate of Mass Communication corroborated the account of the arrest as given by Olarotimi but was quick to add that on their arrest, they were not informed of their offense until they got to the station on Sunday, 26th August, 20018.
In his words,” Majority of people here, we don’t know each other, it’s just few. Okay let me just speak for myself, I was invited by a friend by the name Muyiwa, for the party, he was not arrested along with us. He attended the party but he wasn’t arrested alongside us. So, on getting there, a lot of people were there, normally, in all social gatherings, probably a birthday party or club, we do have more of males than females which we actually fall victims of it. There were a lot of males in attendance, I am not disputing that but we have females there.
“A girl was arrested alongside us and other girls were seated in a round table with us but they let go the ladies. Then the lady that was kneeling alongside with us was released as well because the ladies were in their hotel rooms making up and dressing up. The first lady that dressed up before others came downstairs but they released her.
“The police didn’t bother to check the rooms but I guess they were not allowed to check the rooms due to security reasons that other lodgers might be there but we were not given opportunity to talk. We didn’t know what we did until yesterday after arriving at the police station”.
On the items recovered from them, Olasukanmi said,”They said they found some stuffs with us, let us start from the Shisha first, the Shisha was just there in the hotel, then after bringing out the Shisha, they asked who owned it, a guy came out from the audience and claimed possession of the Shisha, the guy is here. Then the clothes, one of them is for a dancer that was to perform, I don’t know him from Adam, I swear. Then, the Tramadol also, they got it in someone’s pocket.
“I guess based on this, people that claimed possession of those items should be held responsible not collectively. Then based on the homosexualism of a thing, I am not even one, that is the funny thing, I can vow for myself. Then even if such atrocity was to happen, at least, there should be concrete evidence, probably you caught someone in the act. Then we are being accused of initiation, at least there should be instruments of initiation at the venue, nothing was found on us, nothing harmful was found on us at the venue up till this moment.
“I was at the bar when they came in and I was the first person to be arrested that day, we were buying beer because I came in not quite long, it was around 1.47am that the police came in. It was an overnight party, the party was supposed to start around 11pm. When they came in and arrested us, they asked us to sit on the floor. I am not a cultist. I was not personally invited by the celebrant; I was invited by my friend”.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edgal Imohimi has ordered the arrest of the hotel owner for interrogation in relation to the arrest.
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