Following
the news of Bobrisky’s arrest last night, some Nigerians have linked
his arrest to a now deleted post where he stated that he is gay.
Thought when the effeminate was interviewed and he alleged that
serial entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, was behind his arrest, some Nigerians
have still held on to their belief that his arrest was because he
publicly came out as gay.
LIB reached out to frontline lawyer and human rights activist, Festus
Keyamo, to find out if it is legal for Bobrisky, or anyone for that
matter, to be arrested for publicly stating that they are gay.
He’s quoted:
‘For me, you have to be caught in the act. Yes, it may amount to
corrupting public moral when you go on social media to announce you are
gay but we are talking about the law here and not sentiment and if we
are talking about the law, the person has to be caught in the act.
Except the person says he is gay and refers to a particular gay act that
can be verified. For example, if Mr.
A comes out on social media to say I am a thief, he cannot be
arrested because his declaration that he is a thief cannot be linked to a
particular act of stealing. Anybody can come out to say I am a
kidnapper but if you do not link that declaration to a particular
incident that happened, that person cannot be arrested.
So also, if a person comes out to say I am gay and you can’t link
it to a particular gay act that actually happened or that he was caught
in the act, I think it is wrong for such a person to be arrested.
You can only be arrested when you consent to the act that can be
verified. He can be arrested for saying that he is gay but it must be
linked to a gay act that happened. You cannot be arrested for just
saying you are gay’