Nigerian LGBTQI members over time have been caught in the crossfire of an intensely homophobic culture and religious convictions which pay no regard to their fundamental human rights.
The situation has become so pathetic that many of the LGBTQI community members have gone underground for the fear of being lynched by angry and overzealous mob.
Of recent, the case of Mr. Christopher Michael became a subject of discussion after he was nabbed with his gay partner in Rivers State.
Rivers is one of the oil rich state in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
According to investigation by this paper, Christopher was bursted by some group of mob while meeting with his partner in his residential home.
The mob, which reportedly mounted surveillance on him over time, broke into his home, attacked Christopher and his partner.
He was brutalized, publicly shamed and handed over to the police.
While in police custody, Christopher and his partner were tormented, starved, dumped in a dark cell and forced to denounce their sexuality.
During this period of time, their families rejected them and even collaborated with local authorities for their prosecution.
However, it took the intervention of some concerned civil society group to bail Christopher and his partner from the police custody.
The case of Christopher Michael is one out of hundreds of cases in Nigeria.
In July 2017, at club Owode in Lagos, 70 men and boys suspected to be involved in homosexual were arrested by police.
According to Daniel Okoye, a paralegal helping LGBTQ people in Nigeria, the police saw the arrests as an easy way of extorting money.
“In the majority of these cases the police extort funds from them, knowing that any court case will out their sexuality,” says Okoye. “For most of them, their single wish is to pay and get out, and the police use it against them.”
After the Owode arrests, similar gatherings went deeper underground. “Many parties cancelled out of fear, but this one continued in the same month,” explains another organiser. “Less people come now but, ultimately, people just want to live their lives.”
On March 24th, 2020, five men were stripped, beaten, and marched through the central streets of Warri, an industrial hub in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.
According to local accounts, the men had met to have a good time together, 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 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.
In September 2018, Nicholas Okoh, leader of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), claimed that homosexuality obstructs the country’s progress.
Such statements are common in Nigeria, with the majority of lawmakers, preachers, and religious scholars labelling gay people as sinners who defy the natural order.
Moreover, since the passage of Nigeria’s anti-gay law, the Nigerian LGBT community has been subject to increasing violence and persecution, in addition to the danger of legal prosecution.
Former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act in January 2014, which established an up-to-14-year prison sentence for those participating in gay marriages and a five-year penalty for those who enable such ceremonies.
Considering the growing act of violence against LGBTQI members in Nigeria, many have fled the country in search of safety in Europe and America.
However, the international community must continue to provide support for LGBT Nigerians, and continue to apply pressure on the Nigerian government to repeal the discriminatory legislation.
