TVC E. What will come to your mind seeing this couple?
There is an idea that being gay is against being African, but is not the case of Abdul Lawal (right) who is supposed to be the husband and Umar Tahir (left) the wife.
They were supposed to get married at the popular King’s Land Hotel in Jiwa Community of Abuja but the ceremony was cut short by the intervention of the Nigeria police who promptly arrested the suspects.
However, residents of Jiwa community in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) witnessed half of the ceremony marking the solemnization of the couple last week.
The couple who are both male came from Kaduna to the area purposely for the marriage ceremony.
Guests had already started arriving the venue of their wedding which was well decorated and as soon as the bride and groom, both from Kaduna state, arrived the venue, they were immediately arrested and taken to the Gwagwa Police Station where they were detained.
The FCT Police Command spokesperson, Assistant Superintendent of Police Anjuguri Manzah, said the command received an intelligence report and swiftly moved to the venue of the event to stop the marriage from holding.
He said, “We acted based on the provisions of the Same-Sex Prohibition Act signed into law in 2013.
“We received an intelligence report and acted fast by moving to the venue of the event to stop it.”
Manzah, who gave the names of the couple as Ibrahim Lawal (husband) and Umar Tahir (wife), added that the men were both from Kaduna State.
He said the police were investigating the case and would charge the couple and other persons involved in the ceremony to court.
Apart from the couple, Manzah said the police also arrested some other persons connected to the ceremony.
He said, “We also arrested the sponsors of the wedding and the owner of the hotel where the event was billed to hold.”
The sponsors of the marriage were named as Abubakar Tahir and Mohammed Sani.
