21 youths arrested with 122 condoms at Ibadan all-male party

Police in Oyo state have arrested twenty-one youths under the age of twenty five for allegedly belonging to a 'gay cult'.

According to reports, the youths were taken into custody last week after police found them at an all-male 'party' with 122 condoms in their possession.

Police say the youths were holding an initiation into their group at the time of their arrest but have not charged them formally, despite detaining them at an Ibadan police station, The Nation reports.

It was reported that the police, who say they acted on a tip, believed the suspects are gay cultists because they were in possession of such a large number of condoms with no female present.

A unnamed spokesperson of The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIER) told The Nation that they got involved in the case after a phone call on May 10.

"At the point of arrest, the young men were physically assaulted and treated in a manner unbecoming of any legal process: they were photographed in their underwear, made to write statements under duress and locked up in an overcrowded cell," the spokesperson said.

The report said a lawyer from the International Center for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights (INCRESE) eventually facilitated 'bail' for the suspects.

The alleged gay members reportedly paid various sums for their release and have decided not to seek redress for their treatment over fears that they might be exposed and branded gay publicly.