LAGOS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - A Nigerian court on Tuesday
adjourned the trial of 47 men charged with public displays of
affection with members of the same sex, a high-profile case seen
as a test for a contentious law that criminalises homosexuality.
Ilyas Abdulrahman, a lawyer for the prosecution, said their
lead witness, the police inspector who led the raid in which the
men were arrested, would appear on Wednesday. The defendants,
who face up to 10 years in jail if convicted, had waited for
over three hours for the trial to begin at the Federal High
Court in Lagos.
Homosexuality is outlawed in many socially conservative
African societies where some religious groups brand it a
corrupting Western import.
The men were arrested in a police raid on a hotel in the
Egbeda district of Lagos in 2018. Police said they were being
"initiated" into a gay club, but the accused said they were
attending a birthday party.
The trial is seen as a test case for a Nigerian law banning
gay marriage, punishable by a 14-year jail term, and same-sex
"amorous relationships".
It caused an international outcry when it came into force in
2014. Nobody has yet been convicted under the law, prosecution
and defence lawyers in the case have previously told Reuters.
The trial was previously adjourned twice without opening
remarks because the prosecution did not bring its witnesses to
court.