In a recent interview on Channel TV, the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, has shed light on the reason law enforcement cannot arrest individuals involved in cross-dressing.
Fielding questions from interviewer Seun Okinbaloye, Adejobi addressed the challenges faced by law enforcement in tackling this issue.
Seun initiated the discussion by referring to the growing concern regarding moral issues and cross-dressing in Nigeria.
He queried the police reaction to such situations, prompting Adejobi to go deeper into the intricacies of law enforcement in these cases.
Adejobi began by acknowledging the difficulty in proving certain cases. He explained that, just like proving someone did something like rape in court, you need to have solid evidence, and if you miss something, you might not win the case.
“Well, Seun, there are some cases that are always very difficult to prove. I’m not unaware of the fact that we have many of them. For instance, if we want to prove a case of rape, rape has points to prove. If any of those points are missing, you may lose your case in court. Let us be reasonable. You can’t arrest someone without having credible evidence against such a person,” Adejobi said.
When pressed further on whether cross-dressing itself constitutes a crime in Nigeria, Adejobi clarified that he has not encountered any legislation explicitly labelling it as such.
However, he pointed out that allegations often arise linking cross-dressers to other criminal activities categorised as “unnatural offences.”
“I don’t think so because I’ve not read anywhere that it is an offence per se but some of them that are into cross-dressing, the allegations are that they are into something else, unnatural offences and that’s where the problem lies. We need to actually have enough proof, credible evidence to prove that they are actually into that. All those offences are unnatural offences in Nigeria and they are punishable under our laws,” he stated.
Adejobi elucidated that while individuals have the liberty to express themselves through cross-dressing, concerns arise when such behaviour is associated with criminal conduct.
The Force PRO ended by saying that it’s okay for people to dress however they want, but if they’re doing illegal stuff, there needs to be enough evidence to prove it. He said the law will take care of it if there’s proof. due process.
Watch the full video below:
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