The Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed November 22, 2019 for the arraignment of 46 persons charged with homosexuality by the police.
The defendants were said to have been arrested in August at a hotel in Egbeda. The police brought them to court on Tuesday for arraignment. But Justice Rilwan Aikawa said his courtroom was too small for the arraignment of the 46 defendants.
The judge said he would have to adjourn the arraignment while he looked for a bigger courtroom where the arraignment could take place.
“We cannot have 57 persons in this court. We have to look for a day we can use Court 2, so it can be convenient for all,” the judge said and adjourned till November 22.
The police said the 46 defendants were among the 57 persons arrested while making a “public show of a same sex amorous relationship with each other in hidden places within Kelly Hotel, Egbeda.”
According to the charges, the defendants were picked up around 2am while performing gay initiation rites for newly recruited members. The police prosecutor, Joseph Eboseremen, said the defendants acted contrary to Section 5(2) of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013.
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