Bobrisky, Denrele, Others Risk Jail As Reps Consider Cross-dressing Prohibition

Bobrisky, Denrele, Others Risk Jail As Reps Consider Cross-dressing Prohibition

The House of Representatives is in receipt of a bill seeking to prohibit crossdressing in Nigeria. The bill, sponsored by a member, Muda Lawal Umar, passed first reading on Tuesday.

Though the objectives of the bill will only be debated at the second reading, our correspondent obtained a copy of the proposal after it was introduced.

The legislation is titled, ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013 to Prohibit Cross-Dressing; and for Related Matters.’

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The bill particularly seeks to amend Section 4 of the Act by inserting a new Sub-clause 3 that reads, “(1) Crossdressing whether done publicly  prohibited

“Provided that this section of this Act shall not apply to cross-dressing in the course of a stage play or in any bona fide public entertainment.”

The bill also seeks to amend Section 5 of the Act by inserting a new Sub-clause 4 that reads, “A person engaged in cross-dressing is guilty of an offense and liable to imprisonment for six (6) months or to a fine of five hundred thousand naira (N500,000).

The bill further seeks an amendment to Section 7 of the Act iby introducing the word ‘cross dressing’ and defining it as “…the practice of wearing clothes usually worn by a person of the opposite sex.”

Notable among cross-dressers in Nigeria are popular television host, Adenrele Oluwafemi Edun, widely known as Denrele; suspected transgender woman, Olanrewaju Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky; Port Harcourt-based crossdresser, Daniel Anthony, aka Jay boogie; and James Chukwueze Obialor, aka James Brown.