Nigeria Police has revealed the reason why crossdressers and transgenders cannot be arrested and prosecuted in Nigeria, saying that the nation’s constitution has not criminalised them.
Revealing this in a television interview, the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi pointed out that Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, and his colleagues who are Nigerian transgender and LGBTQ personalities have not contravened the nation’s constitution,
Adejobi stated, “I don’t think crossdressing is a crime in Nigeria. I have not read it anywhere that it is a crime per se.”
He said, “There are some cases that are very difficult to prove. For instance, if you want to prove a case of rape, rape has points to prove. If any of those points is missing, you will lose your case in court. You can arrest somebody you want to prosecute without having credible evidence against the person. I don’t think crossdressing is a crime in Nigeria. I have not read anywhere that it is a crime per se but for those who are into crossdressing, the allegation is that they are into something else, unnatural offences. That is where the problem lies. We need to actually have enough proof, credible evidence, proof that they are actually into that. All those offences are natural offences and they are punishable under our laws. It is not a crime in Nigeria.”
