THE POLICE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE GAY

THE POLICE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE GAY

When you read this story, you will want to say many things about what I should or should not have done. You will recognise my startling naivete and be vexed by my behaviour in a circumstance of police harassment. And you would be right. In the weeks after this incident, I questioned myself and listened to people, friends, who have pointed out all the ways I could have stopped myself from being such a victim of the Nigerian Police.

My story begins on a September day that I will now never forget. September 13. A day before that, I’d hooked up with a guy, and during the sex, the condom broke. I was apprehensive about this, and because I hadn’t been tested for HIV this year, I endeavored to do something about my situation. After asking around for an LGBT-friendly clinic where I could get tested, I got the recommendation of a clinic right here in Lekki.

So, on that day, I went to the clinic. Got tested and my results came out negative. I was instructed to come back again in a few months’ time, but in the meantime, they gave me PEP medication to take, to extra-ensure my safety from HIV contraction. The doctor talked to me about condom usage and the generous application of lubricant to ensure the incident of the condom breaking doesn’t happen again. At the end of my appointment, I left the clinic with my PEP medication, some condoms and lubes.

I ordered a Taxify and was soon on my way home.

The trip was barely five minutes along (we were coming up on Lekki-Epe Expressway), when what turned out to be a police van pulled up before us, with the men inside tumbling out and ordering the driver to stop. These men were not in uniform, but wore very well the aggressive authority one has come to associate with the police.

I’d never before been harassed by the police, so this sudden intrusion threw me into a state of anxiety, as they – about four of them – instructed the driver to come out and open the boot for a search. Believing that they must think this was a private car, I stepped out and told them that it was a commercial vehicle, a Taxify, and that I was a passenger not the owner.

These men then took one look at me – at my elegant dressing, at the rings adorning my finger, at the iPhone in my hand – and they zeroed in on me.

They asked me who I was. I told them my profession, that I’m a designer. They asked where I was coming from. I told them I hadn’t been feeling well, and was on my way home from the hospital. They asked for my phone, which I calmly handed over. My first mistake.

At this point, they had started talking about how I can say I’m a designer and be looking this flashy and own an iPhone. That I must be a yahoo boy. I protested, saying that I am who I said I was.

They said I should end my Taxify trip and follow them to their car. Again, I obeyed. My second mistake. I ended the trip and got into their vehicle with them. All I was thinking was that if I cooperated with them, if I showed what an agreeable person I was, they would let me go.

While in the van, they were still making noise about me being a yahoo boy, noise which was reinforced when the one going through the media gallery of my phone came upon a screenshot I took of a 3-million naira transaction I did for my elder brother. They pounced on that as proof of my internet criminality, that I was going to have to pay them 1 million naira to get out of this. I told them to look at the screenshot well, that they would see that the name on it isn’t the name they’d see on my ID card, that the transaction belongs to my brother, not me.

At this time, the van had started moving, and we were now driving away from Lekki toward Victoria Island. I still believed I could sway these guys into letting me go if I behaved myself.

Having gone through my media gallery and not finding anything out of the ordinary, the policeman with my phone turned his attention to my WhatsApp. When I saw what he typed in the search bar on WhatsApp, I began to panic. This guy had typed to search “role”, “top” and “bottom”. They were now moving their “investigation” from yahoo boy to homosexuality.

Feeling desperate because I knew what those search words would produce, I began to beg in earnest, offering to give them 20k to let me go. My third mistake. (At this point, I’m just going to stop pointing out my mistakes. I made many of them, as you will no doubt catch as you read on.) This seemed to validate my “guilt”. We were officially negotiating the terms of my release when one of them responded that I should pay them 50k. I said I didn’t have that and maintained that I could give them 20 if they’d just let me go at once. They doubled down on 50.

The story quickly changed when the phone investigator came upon the “incriminating evidence” of my homosexuality in the form of some of my chats, some of them sexual, and including the ones where I was asking about an HIV clinic. He hollered that I’m even a faggot, and passed my phone around for the others to see. It was at this point that they finally looked into the nylon they confiscated from me. The nylon I’d been with, which had my PEP medication, condoms and lubes. They saw its content and their energy heightened. One of them started slapping me repeatedly, as they heaped accusations and verbal abuse on me. “So, you be homo sef… See condoms and lube wey you dey carry, so na man house you dey come from, come dey lie say you dey come from hospital… Faggot like you… You have all these condoms because you are going around bursting man nyash, eh… We go show you today…”

My desperate explanations that I was truly coming from a hospital where I’d gone to get tested for HIV fell on deaf ears. I even tried to tell them about PEP, pointing at the drug as proof of where I’d been. Still nothing. Instead they turned that around to say that I was HIV positive, threatening that they would pass my pictures to instablog9ja and my reputation would be ruined. I couldn’t believe what was happening, that these men were being this callous. They were shouting over my explanations, while that particular one kept intermittently hitting me.

Soon, we were driving up to the FCID in Alagbon. They pulled me out of the van and one of them hissed at me to “act normal”. Again, I cooperated, still believing that I could “good boy” my way out of this. Flanking me, they led me toward a building. At this time, I was desperately begging them, agreeing to pay the 50k they’d earlier asked for. But they responded that my luck had run out.

They marched me straight to the office of someone I figured was their boss and told him about my arrest. The man said he was on his way out and that he would deal with my case when he returns. They took me to a counter which was manned by a policewoman. She took one look at me and began making some empathetic sounds about how I looked too fine to be in trouble, asking her colleagues what I did. They gleefully announced my “crime” to her – that I’m a homo. The woman made a sound of displeasure, but her expression was still kind when she turned to me to say things like “But how can a fine boy like you be doing that kind of thing? It’s not good.”

The men produced writing materials and barked at me to write a statement. I was so flustered that I didn’t know what to write. They began dictating to me what to write and I complied. I was so petrified that I even struggled to write some of the words; at some point, I did not know how to spell “is”.

They were also screenshotting my chats, and even then, I still held on to the desperate hope that this would not escalate any further. That somehow, they would still soon let me go. When I got some alone time with the policewoman, I begged her to intercede on my behalf. She tried. She went over to the men to beg them to take what I was offering and let me go. But they refused.

The day was waning, and they booked me to be remanded in cell. I begged and begged. Asked to be given the chance to call someone, anyone, at least to know what was happening. They refused.

And just like that, I was shut in behind bars. It was like a nightmare. I couldn’t believe the twist of horror that my life had taken. Just this afternoon, my most pressing problem was to know if I was HIV positive. Now, I was locked up in a cell like a common criminal.

Fortunately for me, my cell mates were kindly toward me once they saw from my countenance that I was an ajebo. I didn’t belong there and they knew this. Some of them said consoling words to me, advising me on what to do the next day to ensure I wouldn’t spend another night in jail.

I couldn’t even sleep that night. I was tortured by my anguish over how I came to be in this situation and thoughts of how this situation could possibly escalate to something worse. I thought about the stories that had made past headlines of boys arrested at parties and dragged to court to be tried over their perceived homosexuality. This couldn’t be my lot! It just couldn’t!

The next day was Saturday. Someone in my cell pointed out a policeman who he said was nice, that I could ask to use his phone to call my people. I approached the man, and he let me have his phone. I called my dad who stays in a different state, told him I’d been arrested and that I needed someone to come speak for me at the station. He in turn called my elder brother, who lives overseas. My brother then called back on the policeman’s number to hear from me what was going on. I told him the same thing I told my dad, and he said he would send someone over to the station.

Around 3 PM, my cousin who lives on the Mainland and a couple of my brother’s friends arrived at the station. They met with two of the officers that arrested me, and the negotiations for my release was soon underway. The policemen were very loud about how I was a homosexual, and I just wanted to die as they brandished the screenshots they took of my WhatsApp chats, showing them to my cousin and brother’s friends. They set my bail money at 500k, but the guys on my side bargained hard until they landed on 300k.

All this was by no means a swift process. The entire thing dragged on all afternoon till nighttime. After they settled on 300k, this was communicated to my brother, who then sent the money across. However, when the policemen saw how fast the money was produced, they changed their mind, insisted that the bail money was now 400k. We couldn’t tell my brother this; I had about 100k in one of my accounts and gave my cousin my ATM card to go get it. I was just not going to spend another night in this place.

While my cousin was away to get the money, one of the policemen who arrested me came to where I was and began mouthing off with his ignorance. Talking about how all gays have HIV and how it was our punishment for doing what we do. He talked about how my case was similar to one they handled a while ago – of a cultist they arrested who turned out to be gay as well, and how his family also found out about this at the police station. He said this with some sort of pleasure, like he was thrilled that their job description included outing homosexual people to their families. I sat there, ignoring him, silently wanting him to just go away.

Finally, we were done and left the station. The policemen returned all my things to me, including my PEP medication. However, the condoms and lubes were missing. My cousin dropped me off at my place. I felt at once grateful for the familiar surrounding of my house and alien because of the contamination of my period in a police cell. I was traumatized and suicidal, and I went to bed that night battling depression. I just wanted to sleep and never wake up.

The next day, Sunday, was spent on the phone with my family members. My brother was furious. Kept on ranting about how I’d disgraced him and our family, how he’d always suspected me of being gay and now I had to make it known in such a public way, how I should be ashamed of myself, and how I could have the nerve to roll around with faggots in a country like Nigeria where homosexuality was frowned upon.

My mother, on the other hand, was more sensitive to my fragile state of mind. She was consoling and grateful to God for ensuring my safety.

My cousin also called to encourage me to not let my ordeal get to me. He said he didn’t believe what the police said about me being gay, that they were after all notorious for manufacturing evidence and could have very well fabricated those screenshots they showed them at the station.

My cousin also wanted me to give him back the sum of 10k, which he said he borrowed from his wife the previous day to settle something at the police station on my behalf. I didn’t question his claim and had just about that amount in my other account. I transferred it to him.

By the end of that day however, I felt marginally better than I did the previous night. But I was still in a bad place.

On Monday, my cousin called again, telling me to come online on WhatsApp. Because of the incident, I’d logged off and deactivated all social media platforms of mine, even deleted my pictures on Instagram. So, I reinstalled WhatsApp and logged on. My cousin showed me a message that was supposedly sent to him by the police. (He had served as my guarantor at the station, and so, had had to supply his phone number to the police.) The message asked him to come back to the station with 40 thousand naira as a fee for the destruction of all the evidence the police had against me. My cousin then asked me to send him the money so he could get going, that he didn’t want any trouble with the police.

I was irritated by this. Wasn’t he the one who himself emptied my bank account to pay for my bail? The 10k I sent him the previous day was basically all I had on me. Where did he think I’d get 40k from? And why on earth would the police demand for this extra money for such a silly task as deleting the screenshots they had?

I told my cousin that I would have to call my brother and try to get the money from him. But my brother had questions. Suspicions directed at my cousin. He said he would have to verify his claims first. So, he called one of those friends who he’d sent to the station; this friend apparently had a police friend. And through this police friend, word must have gotten to the station where I was arrested, because they called me to confront me over the lie they heard my guarantor was telling about them. I told the person who called that I only knew what my cousin told me.

In fact, this whole mess that is this story did not let up simply because I was released from the police station. Long story short, the police called my cousin to harass him for lying. They also believed I was in on the lie and threatened to come to my place (whose address they had from my statement) and take me in again. My brother had to pay some more money to mollify them. My brother was also pissed at my cousin, and I felt betrayed by him for trying to profit off of my situation. I started doubting the 10k he got from me, realizing that he’d probably lied about that too. But he remained steadfast in his denial, maintaining that he didn’t fabricate the WhatsApp message.

Anyway, it’s been a couple of months since then, and the road to my mental and psychological healing has been a long one. It didn’t help that my brother often lashed out with his homophobia, and that when I narrated the ordeal to my friends, they made a case for all the ways I could have prevented myself from going through it. All the ways I let myself be intimidated by the police, when I could have had more strength of will.

“You willingly got into their van even before they had anything on you,” said a friend. “You should never do that! What if they were kidnappers? They weren’t wearing any uniform. How could you do that?”

I read the post about the model who was arrested simply because the police believed all models are gay, and the memories of that period in my life came rushing back. The police is NOT your friend, especially when you’re gay. It was a tough lesson to learn, but learn it I have.

Written by Bola

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  1. Teddy
    November 07, 07:25 Reply

    What a wow! I’m so sorry. Sending you love and loads of e-hugs. Hope you heal soon from this traumatic experience.

  2. Tc
    November 07, 07:33 Reply

    First, I’m so sorry for this. Ndo.

    Now, for next time, the police and SARS and the rest can sense fear. Do NOT give away your cool no matter how distressed you may be. Don’t even be bothered when they stop to search your vehicle. Let them speak to you first and you lazily look up from your phone and respond in a very cool way. Throws them off. Do NOT get down from your vehicle please unless the want to search the back seat. After they’re done, go back inside and speak to them from there. If they demand your phone, tell them it’s against the law to go through phones at stop points without a warrant but it’s fine. You’ll however want to call your lawyer as the law demands, call him and hand them over your phone. The entire process of you being cool and then having a lawyer on speed dial let’s them know you’re bad market. Trust me, they’ll barely go through your phone. They’ll say sorry Sir, we were just doing our jobs.

    I’ve been stopped so many times and it’s worked always.
    Stay safe.

    • bamidele
      November 07, 18:20 Reply

      Wow!
      Your advice is really educative! Thank you for sharing it

  3. Mitch
    November 07, 07:43 Reply

    Your naivete is touching.
    And annoying at the same time.

    I’m really sorry you had to go through this shit. But, for your own good, always expect the worst from the police. And have a knowledge, no matter how rudimentary, of the law. Because they always get scared once you actually know the law and your rights. They get away with bullying people like this because most people don’t know the laws that protect them. Bikonu.

  4. Blair
    November 07, 07:56 Reply

    No one should blame or judge you for the way you handled it because I believed you did it the way that you thought will peacify everything..

    Police/SARS brutality is on the rise daily, cos the country situation is getting to them as well so they have to find money anyHOW

    Let’s us brace ourselves anytime we go out of the possibilities of having to confront these wolves ? and better ways to tackle them. cos youths are the target.

    Bola you have to heal up 100% cos you have to live .. much love to you

  5. Absalom
    November 07, 08:05 Reply

    So sorry about this, Bola. Please always stay cool in situations like these.

  6. duc
    November 07, 09:12 Reply

    You did nothing wrong Bola. Your only crime, heck , OUR only crime is being born in a country that steadfastly devalues it’s citizens. Take heart and best believe one day Karma will be on your side. We’ll see who’s laughing then.

  7. Tman
    November 07, 09:16 Reply

    Wow! This is huge. I’m glad you’re healing and have learned. I’ve never had any interaction with the police, and I wonder how I’d have reacted were I to be in your shoes.

    I get you trying to pacify them, but your major mistake was getting down from your booked ride. That was quite foolhardy.

    This is an experience to learn from for the community though. Just as Mitch pointed, we should gain – even if it’s just the basics – valuable knowledge of the law we could use in our defense should happenstances like this present themselves. I still doubt those wolves would even adhere to the said law. Once they smell blood, a chance to satiate their avaricious lust, they go all out. You might even end up being wrongly accused, I’ve read worse stories than yours.

    Stay safe anyway. Sending you lots of love.

  8. Higwe
    November 07, 09:26 Reply

    When you read this story, you will want to say many things about what I should or should not have done *

    You did everything you had to .
    Someone else might have decided to be aggressive and ended up with a stray bullet deep in their gut.

    * This is NIGERIA after all *

    When events like this occur , everyone will think they know best and litter your auricle with unsolicited advices …* Spilled milk and glasses *

    While it’s true that predators bank on the prey’s trepidation – some predators do more damage than intended once they sense aggression from their intended prey.

    Some other person might have gotten off easily doing exactly what you did …don’t be too hard on yourself .
    It was just not your day.

    Absolutely no one should judge you .
    It was just an unlucky day and one thing about unlucky days is that they keep getting worse till they push you to the precipice …

    You lost a bit of money but came out with your life to earn another day …

    It could have been worse ….way way worse.

    Take heart and be strong .

    ***************

    In other news – if you noticed the broken condom and pulled out at once or your fucker did , is it really necessary to go on PEP ?

    Would there have been enough exchange of bodily fluids to cause infection ? ?

    • Daddy
      November 07, 10:06 Reply

      Higwe, I’ve been following your stories and comments here for a while now, and I must say I find you rather intriguing.

      If you reside within Lagos, I’d love to meet up with you sometime.

      Cheers!

      • Higwe
        November 07, 13:36 Reply

        Looool

        I’m intriguing all right .

        I don’t just know if my kind of intriguing will work for you ??.

        • Daddy
          November 07, 17:10 Reply

          Well, it turns out there’s really just one way to find out. ?

    • Tristan
      November 07, 10:26 Reply

      Yes, there would have been exchange of bodily fluids. There’s a possibility of anal soreness during sex and precum can be smeared on the anus when the dick is pulled out.That soreness also increases the likelihood of the top guy getting infected.

    • Dayve A.
      November 29, 08:11 Reply

      Yes Higwe. Nanoseconds are enough to cause the exchange and it’s better to be safe than sorry. It’s still a potential exposure to the virus that should be remedied.

  9. Demi
    November 07, 09:33 Reply

    The worst thing about this is ur bursted closet.. Now the popo will feel they can extremely extort any queer guy.. Even as you av followed them u shud av never unlocked ur phone as u are aware of wat dey myt find. I’d simply never do that, let dem take me anywhere I ain’t unlocking dat shii. Things aren’t like dat here in d north but guys pls if we are going out let’s delete our chats, alerts and hide away any sexual pics. I have friends that only take ‘touch lite’ phone out bcos of all this wahala.
    Its also good to quote them d law but I know ppl police av slapped as a result and boom ya frantically opening ur phone. Lol I’m just saying sometimes reasoning don’t work with them, its better we thread on caution and always ‘clean’ our phones of any stuff they myt pick on..
    Bola, take heart and pls don’t be depressed, d worse has happened already and passed.. As for ur cousin , just ignore him, who knows if he orchestrated anything sef.. Mstchew. I do hope ur big bro come around.

  10. Random reader
    November 07, 09:39 Reply

    This is quite sad. Nobody deserves to be harassed like this. Don’t blame yourself because I feel there is nothing you could have done to change what was gonna come to you that day. Fuck your cousin sha , do cut that fraud off.

    I think if you have plans of leaving Nigeria , this is a good chance for you to do so and seek asylum. If you are ever in the schengen state , Sweden is immigrant friendly and gay friendly. You could get residence permit easily with this.

    I wish you well.

    • Gif
      November 07, 15:33 Reply

      Don’t tag the cousin fraud yet, afterall there was a screenshot! I for one would definitely believe the devil over those lying bastards called police!!!

  11. Audrey
    November 07, 10:27 Reply

    I’m sorry you had to go through that shit in hands of those rogues in uniform and I’m glad you’ve already identified where you should done better.

    Good to know you are better now and I pray you never experience such again.Ehugs from this end

  12. Sworld
    November 07, 11:53 Reply

    Never felt this bad in a long while. I know you will get better over time.

    Thank you for sharing your experience with us, this is an eye opener for me to take due measures on my arrival to Lagos. Thank you once again

  13. Mike
    November 07, 15:09 Reply

    This is what I know.
    Being gay is not a crime, getting caught in the act is.
    They can’t hold you for more than 3 days unless they’re processing your case to the court. So typically on day 2 they’ll start hinting at you to call your family.
    Lube and condoms is not a prove of homosexuality, you can purchase a lube in any well established Pharmacy.

    They’re literally had nothing on you other than intimidation, if you have a lawyer or friend who has one , you should have called him, or call friends who have connections to any human rights or lgbtq organization, they’ll come get you out.

    I have seen gay related cases sway for less than what you paid cause of the effort of human rights organization, I know of a case of a married man and a minor, the case didn’t get to court nor did it make the news, 100k was settled on.

    I have also spent like 5 days in a cell, duo family related, that’s how I know it’s against the law to be locked up for more than 3 days without processing to court, they never threaten you with that, cause they don’t have a case.

    I’ve also witnessed how they plan on their intimidation strategy and share the spoils. Police are literally into human trade, their commodity is the human beings in the cell, they know this, they take head count, they hunting for case when they’re broke.

    They usually don’t end of well, with all the stories I heard during my meditative stay in the cell, atleast take comfort in that. Sorry.

  14. KingB
    November 07, 16:19 Reply

    I think they got a better part of him by intimidating him. Fear shows. As for me , because I hate the police with all my being, I try as much as possible not to have any threshold of holding a conversation with them. I was once stopped by them and I really did put them in their place.
    When they stopped the taxi I was in and requested I got down, I intentionally sat for like 3 minutes in the car, came down like the boss I am, looked at them horrifically from their wretched shoe,into their hunger sunken eye and stepped aside. One of them asked that he goes through my phone, I asked him why and he tried intimidating me by screaming at me and all what’s not. Of course there’s no way I could have been intimidated by that. I didn’t spend 6 years as a boarder in King’s College for nothing. All I did was halt the convo, put a call through to a lawyer that stood as guarantor for me when I got a job, activated the loudspeaker of my phone and told him I was been harassed by some police men on the road for nothing.
    When they realized they got nothing on me, one of them asked I should be let go and that I was “Oja buruku”.
    I in turn asked him to thank his God he didn’t buy my Oja buruku. I for show am for Lagos.

    • trystham
      November 07, 20:39 Reply

      Mine is very nearly similar to yours except without the taxi and lawyer. They had passed in a ‘borrowed’ vehicle at the bus stop where I had stood. I don’t like them and I most certainly eyed them as they had passed. I didn’t know they went to park further aways until I suddenly found one of them in my space.
      When he said to follow him, I didn’t argue. Infact I complied with every instruction and answered every question asked until one of them sha do mistake and said “Leave am. Na gay” My people, I don’t know where the spirit came from, but fall upon me it did. I started shouting
      “You MUST prove I am gay o!!!”
      “Nonsense!!!”.
      Something must have worked, because they started shoving me away from their vehicle.

      • demi
        November 08, 08:57 Reply

        can’t stop laughing. well-done, dem go say werey leleyi ooo.. lol

  15. Jinchuriki
    November 09, 06:11 Reply

    Hey, Bola. It is not your fault that you thought the police will be well mannered and cooperative when you show that you aren’t resisting. You didn’t do anything wrong, you were only a victim of circumstance. I just wish it never got as far as you offering to pay 20k. Pele.

  16. Victor
    November 10, 01:46 Reply

    Sorry hun …
    I heard about this( in September too) , but I didn’t know who it happened to …
    Since then , I only bring my main phone along if I’m going really far , and I take my time to log out of everywhere I’m logged in , and delete my WhatsApp messages before I leave my comfort zone .
    Let’s forget all the mistakes you made but one , your chats on WhatsApp ..
    That’s the main thing that positioned you in the mess . So, before we go out with our phones, let’s make sure it’s clean( y’all know what I mean) .
    I’m so sorry about it hun ….

  17. Vic
    November 10, 06:07 Reply

    I am totally lost can someone please help me out. Did law permit police to check your phone without warrant? Having gay chat or gay app, even male nude on your photo file. Is that a crime?. Am totally confused. I must say this few times in the last 3 yrs i have come across policemen and all of them where so nice and Oct.19 my last encounter with police men. One of them have to help us find a battery to start our vehicle at check point after checking my vehicle paper and point out mistake on vehicle registration. He also advice us what to do to avoid future problem. He didn’t let me go without given me his number just incase am stop again that weekend to call him. Many good policemen like him i have come across. I guess i been lucky so far or my approach to them is totally different. Please i need answer to above question before i get into wahala.

    • LegalKoboko
      November 10, 08:25 Reply

      Hi Vic.

      To answer your questions, I’m going to break them down into numbered paragraphs.

      1. Section 37 of the 1999 constitution states that your right to privacy is guaranteed. The contents of your phone is a part of your privacy which should not be tampered with for any reason and by anyone without due process of law.

      2. It is the law that the police cannot search your house without a search warrant signed by a judicial officer. This is the due process I talked about in 1 above. Your phone is like your home. It even has more privacy materials than your own offline home. Therefore, it should not be searched without a valid warrant.

      3. It has been said over and over again that being gay is not a crime in Nigeria. This is quite correct.

      Having a “gay chat”, gay apps and even gay porn on your phone only suggests you might be gay, but these are not illegal.

      There might be a problem though when the police allege that you had gay sex with Mr.X, and then it turns out that they have screenshots of a chat you had with said Mr. X where both of you talked about the sex.

      4. Finally, I want to observe that the police tend to be emboldened in their practice of extorting the LGBT community because very few people have the stomach to put up a serious fight.

      I saw the outrageous extortion sum (parading as bail bund) demanded by the police, and I had a temporary seizure. I’m not going to say more on this.

      Suffice to say that as part of the legal team presently handling the case of the 57 gay men charged with “making public show of a same sex amorous relationship in hidden places”, I know that we have already sent a very strong message to the Nigeria police: WE ARE NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU ONE KOBO FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER. FULL STOP.

      Now they’ve jumped from pillar to post, from the magistrate court to the Federal High Court.

      Dear Vic, you are advised to get your lawyer to file a fundamental right enforcement action against the police for violating your constitutionally guaranteed rights.

      NB: Challenging the police, legally, can be exhausting and time consuming. But in the end, it pays off.

  18. LegalKoboko
    November 10, 08:45 Reply

    Okay. A mixup. So the advice was for Bola, not Vic.
    Thanks.

  19. Sexytoafault
    November 16, 18:33 Reply

    Oh wow ?
    I’m so so so sorry you had to go through this dear.
    I’m actually short of words
    I feel so sad

  20. Juju
    November 21, 15:49 Reply

    This shit is scary jeez, typing role on WhatsApp search…

  21. Dayve A.
    November 29, 07:57 Reply

    I had a similar experience 3 years ago at Ojuelegba. I was shocked that these idiots knew the keywords to search for on WhatsApp and Facebook. Searching for tops and bottoms, I believe is suspect even for them but they are the law so what can we do.

    Now to your friends comments o writer, what should we do next time in such a situation knowing we cannot not hand them the phone or they beat it out of our hands and not unlocking shows that there is something we are hiding which they can conclude and submit is yahoo linked. You get?

  22. Dayve A.
    November 29, 07:58 Reply

    Btw lol @ them taking your lubes and condoms. Sharp foolish guys

  23. Dayve A.
    November 29, 08:28 Reply

    @legalkoboko so what if you are accused of being a Yahoo and they want to verify with your phone searched are you still to turn that down and say you would only give up your phone when a warrant having your name is presented to you?

  24. Hicinth
    March 21, 00:10 Reply

    Please @legalKoboko or any other legal person here, can you provide contact to reach you? Please

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