Fire in the LGBT community as suppression and violence continue to escalate.
5 min read
Anti LGBT violence in Nigeria has remained a regular occurrence in all the 6 geo-political zones of the country in spite of calls by local and international advocacy groups to respect the rights of the sexual minorities in the country. It appears that Nigeria which is a 90 percent religious society coupled with traditional thinking and superstitions has “legalized” the violence and discriminations against the LGBT community. From time to time, young boys have been arrested and continue to be arrested by the police and local vigilante groups on mere suspicion of being the members of the LGBT community.
Reports Umuaka Times correspondents gathered have so far gathered showed that the police has at various successful attempts clamped down on youths having birthday parties and arrested all of them and termed such gathering gay parties. Several other suspects have also parted ways with large sums of money which were spent to secure their releases from the police. These activities have taken places over the years in almost all the 6 geo-political zones in the country.
Anti LGBT violent attacks have also left some community members murdered in cold blood. Around 2022, a Lagos based gay man simply identified as Dave was murdered in his bedroom by an anti LGBT criminal who posed as a member of the community in order to gain the trust of the late Dave. At the dead of the night during his visit to Dave, the impostor used a weapon and murdered his host and disappeared into the night.
In 2013, another gay man identified as Mr Sylvanus Okoye was murdered in cold blood in his Okota residence in Lagos by yet another anti LGBT criminal who paid him a visit.
Still in the year 2013, three gay men according to Premium Times newspaper of January 15, were lynched in Imo State after neighbours got hold of them on the claim that they were having gay sex. Till date, no arrests were made concerning the ugly incident.
A young effeminate gay man of about 25 years was also reported to have been murdered by unidentified men in Calabar in 2021 with regards to his effeminacy and sexuality.
In 2020, 57 young men were arrested by the police on the allegation of initiating people into gay clubs. The news of the arrest of the boys made national headlines as the police addressed a press conference on the matter. Days later, they were charged to court.
Findings show that the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act of 2014 has in many quarters been misunderstood and misapplied by the people and the police who assume that the law states and empowers them to arrest, torture and even murder their fellow citizens based on their perceived sexuality respectively. The Anti-Gay Law of Nigeria has been widely criticized and condemned by international advocacy groups for perpetuating discrimination and hostilities towards gay and lesbian individuals across the country.
According to AP News, “Law enforcement authorities in Nigeria are using the country’s same sex prohibition law to target the LGBTQ+ community while ignoring abuses against them, rights groups and lawyers say, in the wake of fresh mass arrests of gay people.”
Sources from the Human Rights First, an international advocacy group based in New York said: “On March 24th, five men were stripped, beaten, and marched through the central streets of Warri, an industrial hub in southern Nigeria. According to local accounts, the men had met to engage in consensual—and illegal—sex, only to be blackmailed by one of the group’s associates. Despite threats to divulge their sexual orientation to police, the men rejected the blackmailer’s demands. Following the refusal, the men were reportedly stripped and whipped before the angry crowd and brought before the municipal authorities who ordered them to pay a substantial fine. The incident is yet another in a disturbing trend of mob attacks against an already victimized LGBT community.”
the Advocate some time ago reported that “Facebook and its parent company Meta are under fire from an Oversight Board that sharply criticized the social media juggernaut after it failed to stop the posting of a video showing two gay men being beaten and abused by a crowd of Nigerians. The video remained live on Facebook for five months.”
Indications emerged that in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, several gay men were attacked by deeply religious persons who vowed to kill all the gays in the city and cleanse the city of sinners. This incident took place as far back as 2014 and till date, no arrests were made.
As the hostilities continued against the LGBT community in the country, Charles Oreva escaped death by whiskers in a mob action in Onitsha Anambra State after he was seen regularly on the streets walking like a woman and that was his only offence. Malik Adejo from Kogi State suffered similar fate when some men confronted him, took him to a nearby bush and inserted an object in his ass as a punishment for being gay. Adejo was hospitalized for weeks as a result of the injuries he sustained from the attack. Aigbe Roland from Edo State who lives in his village was chased out of the village and banished by the youths because of his sexuality.
The sad stories can go on and on; Mr Akanji Adetunbi Sharafa, a Muslim man who lives in the Makoko area of Lagos was also subjected to similar tortures. According to what Umuaka Times obtained, Sharafa was raped by women and subsequently beaten by men because of his sexuality. Today, he is reported to have fled his community as a result of the attacks and threats he has continued to receive. Nobody knows what could have happened to him if he had stayed.
The international community has at different fora appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria to repeal discriminatory anti- gay laws and protect the rights of all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The groups have continued to advocate for greater tolerance and acceptance, but the situation remains both worrisome and troublesome for the LGBT community in Nigeria.
Umuaka Times findings also showed that religious families across the country have at different times, disowned their sons and daughters the moment they discovered their sexualities. There are certain opinions across Nigeria that even if the Anti-Gay Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are repealed based on criminal, traditional and religious beliefs, the society will continue to fight the likes of Aigbe Roland, Malik Adejo, Charles Oreva, Akanji Adetunbi Sharafa and a host of others. It appears there is no week the LGBT community in the country does not suffer violent attacks.
