(TotalConservative.com) – Almost 200 people were arrested in Nigeria for simply showing up at a gay wedding in the African nation. The not-so-happy couple was also busted. Nigeria has strict laws against homosexuality. Police raided a hotel in Ekpan town, Delta state in the south of the country around 2 a.m. local time on August 28th.
Delta State Command spokesman Bright Edafe said homosexuality isn’t tolerated and would “never be” in Nigeria. The coastal nation is the most populated nation in Africa with 230 million residents. He said video of the wedding will be used as evidence in their trials.
He said that Nigeria and African culture is different from “the Western world” and people shouldn’t expect them to copy it. He said that officers have a duty to uphold the laws and the values of their country and cannot sit idly by while the gays openly flout them.
Open expressions of and tolerance for homosexuality aren’t something they will allow in Nigeria, he said. The Same Sex Prohibition Act was passed in 2013 and hundreds are regularly arrested under the statute every year. Homosexual marriages are punishable with up to 14 years in prison, while witnesses or facilitators of the events can face up to 10 years behind bars.
Secretary of State John Kerry has condemned the law, saying it “dangerously restricts freedom” for all Nigerians. Canada and the UK have both condemned the law repeatedly for infringing on fundamental rights like self-expression and association. It’s been used to justify crackdowns and witch hunts for homosexuals, and the arrested have been tortured into revealing the names of other alleged gay people.
Video of the arrested showed numerous Nigerians sitting down, some of the men in drag. Most of the men invited say they are not homosexuals but are involved in fashion, photography, and models who were invited as guests. They were paraded in front of the media, likely as part of their punishment even though they have had no trial.
Digital commenters were quick to point out that gay people in the West who complain about oppression in their home countries have no idea what real oppression is.
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