Rivers State Garri Festival videos showing young men holding hands and dancing have prompted a call for a police investigation in Port Harcourt.
Legal practitioner Ewa Smart has asked the Rivers State Commissioner of Police to investigate videos circulating online which he says were recorded during the recently concluded Garri Festival.
Mr Smart alleges that the videos show young men engaging in what he described as a public display of same-sex affection.
He wants the police to establish the circumstances surrounding the footage and determine whether any offence was committed.
The lawyer cited Section 4(1) of Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013. He said the provision prohibits the public display of an amorous relationship between people of the same sex.
According to Mr Smart, the provision covers conduct including holding hands, hugging, kissing, romantic dancing, cuddling and sitting on each other’s laps in public.
He also referred to Section 5(2) of the Act, which he said provides penalties where an offence under the law is established.
However, the Rivers State Garri Festival videos circulating online have not, from the information provided, been independently verified. It is also not clear from the videos alone what happened before or after the recorded scenes.
Mr Smart said the police should examine the footage and investigate those involved.
“The circulating videos of boys holding hands and dancing romantically to music should be taken seriously,” he said.
He urged the Rivers State Police Command and the Nigeria Police Force to investigate the matter and take appropriate action if investigators establish that a criminal offence occurred.
The call now places the Rivers State Garri Festival videos before law enforcement as a matter for investigation rather than an established criminal case.
