We need power to sanction Big Brother Naija and crossdressers like Bobrisky – NCAA tells lawmakers

The National Council for Art and Culture (NCAA) has called for a legislative amendment that would give it the power to sanction organizers of Big Brother Naija (BBN) over nudity displayed on the show as well as powers to arrest and prosecute crossdressers in the country.

The appeal for powers to sanction Big Brother Naija and crossdressers like Bobrisky was made by NCAA Director-General Segun Runsewe, during an investigative hearing by an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, October 4.

The hearing came after Muda Umar (APC, Bauchi) sponsored a bill in the House seeking to amend the same-sex (Prohibition) Act to prohibit cross-dressing in Nigeria.

The bill which seeks to amend sections 4 and 5 of the principal act, proposes that “A person engaging in cross-dressing is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment of six months or a fine of five hundred thousand naira.”

Commenting on this, Runsewe recalled how he ordered the police to disrupt the birthday celebration of Bobrisky in the past and also condemned the display of nudity in the Big Brother house.

He said;

“I am the first person who took Big Brother Nigeria to the NBC to report them because they were having…I took it up and Big Brother (organisers) tried to reach me and I told them that if the culture in other parts of the world is to be naked – nudity, etc they should not bring it to Nigeria because our culture is rich and it respects the integrity of our country.

“I will give you an example. When Bobrisky started behaving like a woman, I rose and followed him to Lagos. I ‘scattered’ his (birthday) party and I told him, ‘This is not our culture.’ But at the end of the day, that is just Part 1. This honourable house just needs to empower us with just a legal framework and that nonsense will stop”