Reprieve for Bobrisky, Other Cross Dressers as Bill Seeking to Outlaw Cross Dressing Suffers Setback

Paschal Emeka, Abuja

The Bill seeking to ban cross-dressing in the country on Tuesday suffered a temporary setback during consideration at the House of Representatives.

The sponsor of the Bill, Hon. Muda Lawal was asked to step down from the Bill by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Idris Wase noted that the argument by the sponsor is not convincing enough.

Recall that the Bill seeks to amend the same-sex marriage (prohibition) Act of 2013 by including cross-dressing as one of the offenses under the Act.

Crossdressers have become very popular in Nigeria. Some of the notable cross-dressers in the country include Idris Olanrewaju, also known as Bobrisky, and James Brown.

If this Bill scale all the hurdles, crossdressers risk 6 months in prison.

Also, recall that same-sex couples and gay persons face 14 years in jail if convicted by a court.

“A person engaging in cross-dressing is guilty of an offense and liable to imprisonment of 6 months or a fine of five hundred thousand nairas.”

However, this is not a final rejection of the Bill, it could still be debated again if the sponsor provides a convincing and strong argument.