Benin City — Barely days after 69 persons were arrested in Delta State during a police operation at a hotel in Ekpan, security operatives have intensified efforts to track down one of the fleeing suspects, Ovenseri Kingsley Efosa, whose residence in Benin City, along Upper Sokponba Road, was recently raided by a team of policemen from the Delta State Command.

According to police sources, operatives of the Delta State Police Command, acting on a tip-off, had on August 27, 2023, stormed Teebolus Hotel in Ekpan, Uvwie Local Government Area, where an alleged same-sex marriage ceremony was reportedly taking place.

During the operation, two individuals identified as Daniel Pius and Maxwell Ohwonohwo were arrested alongside 67 other persons found at the scene. Several others were said to have escaped during the commotion.

One of the individuals who fled the hotel during the raid was identified as Ovenseri Kingsley Efosa. Security personnel said he was sighted outside the premises shortly before the operation and allegedly narrowly escaped as police closed in.

Acting on fresh intelligence, operatives from Zone 5 Headquarters of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in Benin City, in collaboration with officers from the Edo State Command, conducted a raid on Efosa’s residence. However, the attempt to arrest him was unsuccessful, as he was not found at the apartment.

Following the failed operation, the Edo State Police Command and Ekpan police officers has formally declared Ovenseri Kingsley Efosa wanted and urged members of the public with credible information about his whereabouts to come forward.

The police maintained that their actions align with the enforcement provisions of the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act of 2014, which criminalizes same-sex marriage and related activities and prescribes penalties of up to 14 years’ imprisonment upon conviction.