The suspected gay men filing into a Yaba Magistrate court
The 40 alleged homosexuals arraigned before a Magistrate’s court at Yaba, Lagos, on Thursday, August 3 have been admitted to N500,000 each bail.
They are to each provide two sureties one of which must be a relative who must live within court jurisdiction and show evidence of tax payment.
The suspects are also to undergo court-ordered observation and tests by the Lagos State Aids Control Agency in line with the age range of most of them.
Armadanews.com had reported that 40 persons believed to be homosexuals and arrested in Lagos last week were to be arraigned in court on Wednesday, August 2 by the police.
But due to logistics challenge, they were not brought to court until Thursday.
The civil society community thought otherwise when they got wind of their planned arraignment and kicked against the court outing for the suspects on the assumption they are under-aged.
The suspects were arrested on the night of Friday, July 28 at Ikorodu, taken to Oshodi on Saturday/Sunday and brought to Panti on Monday, July 31 from where they are to be prosecuted.
Armadanews.com gathered that the police at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, Yaba, Lagos have concluded arrangement for the suspects whose ages range between 13 and 18 to be taken to the conventional court.
The Civil Society community thought the suspects are minor and should rather be taken to juvenile homes for counseling, reprimand and rehabilitation.
On Tuesday, some of the activists were making frantic efforts to get the buy in of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Fatai Owoseni, the State Attorney General or even Governor Ambode Akinwunmi to compel the police to drop the idea of court arraignment.
One Adaora Ochubili frantically sought the support of her fellow rights activists to ensure the suspects were not taken to the conventional court, and eventually to prison as doing so will affect them so badly.
Some of the Civil Society members believe that the magistrate court will not be naïve as not to take judicial notice of the ages of the suspects if they are actually minors and refer the matter to the right place for adjudication.
Others suggested that the case is still bail able in a worst case scenario.
Regardless, it was learnt that the Legal Department of the Police in SCID are hell bent on the trial of the suspects and had concluded arrangement for their arraignment.
Indications emerged that they may be charged under Section 259 or 621 of the Criminal laws of Lagos, 2011.
There are fears that if they are charged to a magistrate court they will be remanded in prison, and conscious of this, the rights activists are prepared to send defence counsel to stand in for the suspects, Armadanews.com learnt.