By Josephine Agbonkhese

In spite of legislations, religious and societal norms’ clearly defined stance against same sex unions, particularly with the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2014’s stiff penalties prescribing up to 14 years in prison— the LGBTQ+ community in Nigeria has, continued to grow unabated. Not even the extreme practice of family members disowning suspected culprits or mobs enacting vigilante justice seem to be serving as enough deterrents.

For many culprits caught in the crosshairs, survival has meant enduring stigma and discrimination, hiding in shadows, enduring beatings, or being forced into disappearing completely from their communities. Yet, the phenomenon has continued in its upward trend.

Ade Ayodele, for example , now 28-year-old, was 19 when his family discovered messages on his phone from a boyfriend. What followed was a nightmare: his father, fueled by rage and religious fervour, organised a deliverance session with a group of pastors who beat him with canes, claiming to exorcise the “demon” of homosexuality.

“I screamed until my voice gave out,” Ade recalls, his body still bearing scars from the lashes. He was thrown onto the streets, where he faced further violence from members of his community.

“I also suffered workplace discrimination as each employer fired me once rumours spread about my orientation. The Nigerian law offered no protection,” he said.

Today, Ade scrapes by as a freelance tailor.

Fatima Adegbite, a 25-year-old suspected lesbian from Kano in northern Nigeria, where Sharia law compounds the national anti-LGBTQ+ statutes with even harsher punishments like stoning, discovered her attraction to women during university. She confided in a close friend, but the secret spread like wildfire. Her devout Muslim family, upon learning, locked her in a room for days, forcing her to pray for “cure”. When that failed, they disowned her, leaving her homeless at 21. On the streets, Fatima endured sexual assault from men who claimed they could “fix” her, and police harassment under the guise of enforcing the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. “I was arrested once for just holding hands with a female friend,” she told Vanguard in a telephone interview.

“They extorted money from me, threatening 14 years in prison.”

Societal stigma also made finding shelter impossible as landlords, according to her, also refuse to rent to queer Nigerians like her. Fatima now works odd jobs in Abuja, far from home, but the trauma lingers. Yet, she remains resilient in her sexual orientation.

Chioma Joy Owie, a 38-year-old woman from Benin City, became a stark symbol of the law’s ruthless enforcement. Early 2020, she was arrested by the Edo State Police after a distress call from a hotel manager in Benin City in whose facility she was caught by her now estranged husband in illicit acts with a female partner and was being mercilessly beaten by him. She was, thereafter, detained, interrogated, and repeatedly humiliated before cameras, as police labeled her a “homosexual offender.”

Under Nigeria’s law, which abhors same-sex relationships and bans any form of union or affection, Chioma faced up to 14 years in prison. But after her release on bail, she vanished. Despite her disappearance, Chioma remains wanted by the Nigerian police for her “crime” of same-sex relations. Her family, shunned by the community, and who had also allegedly disowned their daughter after the incident, refused to speak publicly when contacted by this reporter. Chioma’s case underscores the terror inflicted by both law and society—driving individuals into hiding or exile, their lives forever upended.

Chidi Okechukwu, a 32-year-old alleged bisexual male from Enugu, lived a double life for years—married to a woman to appease his family while secretly dating men. In 2022, a jealous ex-partner outed him to the community. What ensued was a brutal mob attack: neighbours, armed with sticks and machetes, dragged him from his home, beating him unconscious. “They shouted ‘Kill the homo!” while my wife watched in horror,” Chidi recounted as he shared his experience with Vanguard. He woke in a hospital with broken ribs and a shattered jaw. The police interrogated him repeatedly, threatening charges under the anti-same-sex law. Fearing for his life, Chidi fled his community.

Amid these gory tales, the same-sex phenomenon mysteriously continues to tragically multiply in Nigeria with newer cases of arrest and public harassment reported regularly across the Nigerian media.

While custodians of religion and cultural norms, therefore, advocate that penalties be made even stiffer, rights activists advocate a different approach— heightened education on sexual orientation across all educational levels, with emphasis on clearly-defined religious and cultural perspectives, consequences, as well as societal impacts of same-sex intimate relationship.

Vanguard News