Self-proclaimed Nigerian male barbie, Idris Okuneye,
also known as Bobrisky has confirmed his arrest by the Lagos State
Police Command at Lekki.
Shortly after his coming out as gay in a now-deleted post, Bobrisky
was arrested and many Nigerians linked his arrest to his confession.
However, Frontline lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN),
Festus Keyamo said Bobrisky cannot be jailed for publicly admitting he
is homosexual unless caught in the act.
“For me, you have to be caught in the act,” he said.
“Yes, it may amount to corrupting public moral when you go on social
media to announce you are gay but we are talking about the law here and
not sentiment and if we are talking about the law, the person has to be
caught in the act.”
“Except the person says he is gay and refers to a particular gay act
that can be verified. For example, if Mr. A comes out on social media to
say I am a thief, he cannot be arrested because his declaration that he
is a thief cannot be linked to a particular act of stealing.”
“Anybody can come out to say I am a kidnapper but if you do not link
that declaration to a particular incident that happened, that person
cannot be arrested.”
“So also, if a person comes out to say I am gay and you can’t link it
to a particular gay act that actually happened or that he was caught in
the act, I think it is wrong for such a person to be arrested.”
“You can only be arrested when you consent to the act that can be
verified. He can be arrested for saying that he is gay but it must be
linked to a gay act that happened. You cannot be arrested for just
saying you are gay,” Keyamo said.
Though the rumors of the arrest all point to Bobrisky’s confession of
identifying as homosexual, Bobrisky said he was actually arrested by
the police on Tuesday following an alleged petition written against him
by rival and entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani.
According to Bobrisky, Lawani accused him of stealing her customers.
In an interview, Bobrisky told Linda Ikeji:
“Toyin Lawani asked her lawyer to write petitions against me that I
worked for her and I’m selling cream to all her customers. Which was a
fat lie. I never worked for Toyin. She was my friend. I can’t remember
ever working for Toyin or learning how to make cream from her.”
”Then she also said I threatened her. So we are going to Abuja
because that was where the case was reported. Before she wrote petitions
against me, she had already threatened me that she is giving me seven
days to go to the internet and apologize to her which I said no way
because she offended me. I think because I refused to apologize, she got
the police involved.”
Bobrisky said his phones were confiscated at the police station, and
he was told that he needed to wait until morning in order to go to
Abuja.
“Yesterday at the police station, I was sitting at the counter and I
was told I needed to wait until morning to go to Abuja. My phone was
taken from me so I couldn’t talk to anyone. I’m trying to get in touch
with my lawyer and all the people I know,” Bobrisky added.
Lawani has since denied these allegations of being involved in his arrest.