A cross-dresser, Okuneye Idris Olanrewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky was arrested on Wednesday evening by personnel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Lagos State.
This was confirmed by the agency’s spokesman, Mr Dele Oyewale in a telephone conversation with SaharaReporters on Thursday morning.
According to the EFCC spokesman, Bobrisky was arrested for mutilation of naira notes and not for his lifestyle as a cross-dresser.
Bobrisky’s arrest comes barely 24 hours after the Nigeria Police Force stated that it lacked enough evidence to arrest him for same-sex activities.
There have been calls for Bobrisky’s arrest, especially after social media influencer and blogger, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan in recent videos condemned the award of Best Dressed Female to the cross-dresser at a Nollywood event.
However, the Force Public Relations Officers, Olumuyiwa Ademola told Channels TV on Tuesday that cross-dressers cannot be arrested because Nigeria has no law against cross-dressing.
He also said there is no evidence to support claims that cross-dressers also belong to the LGBTQ+ community.
The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill was signed into law in Nigeria on January 7, 2014, by then-President Goodluck Jonathan.
The law criminalises public displays of affection between same-sex couples and imposes a 14-year prison sentence on anyone who “[enters] into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union”. It also imposes a 10-year sentence on individuals or groups, including religious leaders, who “witness, abet, and aid the solemnization of a same-sex marriage or union.”
