ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), has said that there is no legal provision that suggests cross-dressers in Nigeria should be taken into custody.
In the midst of discussions about crossdressing and sexuality on social media, the police imagemaker claimed that crimes against nature or natural offenses account for a greater portion of arrests.
ACP Adejobi, who was a guest on Politics Today on Channels Television on Tuesday, expressed the opinion that some charges are difficult to establish in the absence of evidence. As a result, many people who cross-dress are frequently accused of other crimes, and these people cannot be imprisoned until evidence is produced.
“I have not read anywhere that crossdressing is an offence in Nigeria…. Let us be reasonable, you cannot arrest somebody you want to prosecute without having credible evidence and as such, crossdressing is not yet a crime in Nigeria.
“Some of them that are into cross dressing, the allegation is that they are into something else, that’s where the problem lies. We need to have enough proof that they are actually into ‘that’. All those offences are natural offences in Nigeria and they are punishable under our laws,” Adejobi stressed.
He further emphasized that even to prove and prosecute anyone for natural offences, the police must have adequate proof that can hold its own in court.
No Way Here
A bill seeking to amend the same-sex Marriage Prohibition Act (2013) and also outlaw cross-dressing in Nigeria was introduced for first reading at the House of Representatives in April 2022, but was pronounced dead on arrival by many.
Referencing Section 4 of the same-sex Marriage Prohibition Act (2013) Honourable Muda Lawal Ulnar who sponsored the bill, proposed that cross-dressing whether done privately or publicly, should be prohibited.
He also proposed a 6 months imprisonment or a fine of N500,000 for anyone found guilty.
This bill however, in December of the same year, failed to pass second reading at the House of Representatives. The then Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Wase, advised the sponsor, Muda Umar, to step it down as it does not capture the multi-cultural nature of the country
