The Delta State Police Command has released on bail the 69 gay suspects who were apprehended on August 27 in Ekpan Community, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta, for conducting a gay wedding.
The counsel to the suspects, Mr Ochuko Ohimor, told journalists on Tuesday in Warri that they were granted bail with a sum of N500,000 and two sureties each.
According to Ohimor, the sureties must reside within the Effurun jurisdiction.
He added that the suspects must sign a register at the end of every arraignment at the State High Court of Justice, Effurun, in Uvwie LGA, where they were arraigned on September 4.
“The suspects were granted bail at a cost of N500,000 and two sureties each. The sureties must reside within the Effurun jurisdiction,” Ohimor noted.
The police prosecutor, Supol Vincent Orarumen, had opposed the bail conditions, but their lawyer argued that it was not a capital offence.
Recall that the suspects were paraded before newsmen on August 29 at the Ekpan Police Station at the instance of the Delta Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr Wale Abass.
They were arrested by a crack team of police operatives attached to the Ekpan division.
The arrest was made while they were conducting a gay wedding ceremony, which they tagged “All White Party,” at a location off Refinery Road in Ekpan.
The CP, while parading the suspects, had vowed to prosecute them in line with Nigeria’s Anti-Gay Law, which, according to him, prohibits same-sex marriage in the country.
“I can guarantee that they will be charged in court. We are not taking it lightly. It is a clear case, though they are still presumed innocent until proven otherwise by the competent court,” he said
