Buhari Saad, the spokesperson for Nigeria's Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC, an official paramilitary outfit, said suspects were rounded up for having a "gay party" and planning a wedding of two male lovers in Gombe.
"We apprehended 76 suspected homosexuals... while holding a birthday party organized by one of them who was to wed his male bride at the event," Saad said.
The suspects included 59 men and 17 women. Saad said 21 of the men "willfully" said they were gay.
The official added that the would-be groom was arrested while the bride-to-be fled along with other guests.
"We will charge them to court to answer for their actions once investigation is concluded," he said.
Lawyers for those arrested could not immediately be contacted for comment or confirmation.
Same-sex marriage is illegal in Nigeria under a 2014 law and Gombe is also one of the majority-Muslim northern states where Islamic Sharia law runs parallel to the federal and state justice system.
Homosexuality is punishable by death under Sharia in northern Nigeria, although that sentence has never been enforced.
Saad declined to comment on whether the suspects would be charged under Sharia or a common law court.
In recent years, security personnel have raided several suspected gay weddings across northern Nigeria but none of those arrested have been convicted.
In December last year, 19 men and women in their 20s were arrested in Kano by Sharia police called Hisbah on charges they organized a gay wedding.
The suspects were however admonished and released without being taken to court.
Forum