No fewer than 76 suspects were apprehended by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Gombe State Command for allegedly hosting a same-sex wedding.
This was made known by the police spokesman, Buhari Sa’ad, who explained that out of the 76 suspects, 59 are males with 21 said to have confessed to being homosexuals.
He also said that 17 females were also arrested at the scene.
He said, “They were arrested at Duwa Plaza along Bauchi-Gombe Expressway while holding a homosexual birthday and they had plans to hold a same-sex wedding before our men raided the scene.
“Fifty-nine males were arrested, 21 wilfully confessed to being homosexuals and 17 females present at the scene were also picked.
“They will be charged to court to answer for their crime which is on social vice; a crime in Gombe State.”
In addition, the spokesman added that three persons were arrested in the Akko Local Government Area of the state over their involvement in illegal mining activities.
He stressed that the suspects were nabbed at a site in the Gamawa community while operating in violation of the mining clearance that was allegedly approved by the Federal Government.
“My team stormed the site following a tip-off from some concerned citizens. While they were excavating with their excavating machine, we stormed the place and ironically, they claimed to be the owners of the site and that they had a licence, but when we checked their documents we discovered that the approval they had was for Laterite sand which they abandoned for mining coal,” he said.
He disclosed that having reported to the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and the state Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the command has ordered the temporary suspension of activity at the site until proper clearance is obtained from the necessary authorities.
Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Sanusi Pindiga, announced the suspension of all mining activities across the state and urged all miners in the state to appear before the ministry for screening and clearance.
According to him, the decision followed the discovery of the illegal mining site by the NSCDC, and that it was made to ensure that miners operating in the state are properly screened and cleared by the ministry.
“A genuine miner should report to the appropriate authority before going to the field. We don’t want a situation where miners will be mining without considering the dangers and effect of the activities on the lives of our people, their farmlands, and communities,” Pindiga said.