Mr. Esekhile, a 46 year old indigene of Ekpoma in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State has cried out to International bodies to come to his rescue as he is not free to live his normal life as a result of his sexuality.

Esekhile has cried out to the international community and the Nigeria security apparatus for help, stating that his life is currently in danger, because of his sexuality.

Mr. Esekhile who said he had been afraid of stating his sexuality because of the laws of the country, said he had ran away from his home for over six months and had been in hiding, because people of his community are after his life.

Speaking to Vanguard, Esekhile, said he had been lucky to escape lynching on a number of occasions and he had been forced to abandon his business and all his property.

He said he had been advised to apply for asylum outside Nigeria, while some other people had advised him to relocate to a distant place in the country and change his identity completely.

He wondered how he would survive if he relocated to a distant place with a new identity, stating that it would amount to starting life afresh, while he also expressed fear that it might not be long before one of his assailants come in contact with.

He said, “I discovered, years ago, that I am attracted to people of the same sex with me and because of the culture and believe of people around me, I had not been able to openly express my sexuality. My case was worsened with the passage and signing of the law prohibiting same sex union in Nigeria. You can imagine the difficulty of concealing your real identity and personality.

“Though, I have some partners who I have been seeing secretly, I was surprised when in January 2021, a mob gathered outside my house with dangerous weapons, calling on me to come out of the compound, vowing to deal with me, saying they were aware of my actions and evil sexual practice.

“When I refused to come out, they started banging on my doors and there was pandemonium around my vicinity. An elderly neighbor came out and attempted to pacify the mob. While he took them outside to have a chat with them, I used the opportunity to jump out of my window and scaled the fence of my compound to another compound in the next street.

“Some of them saw me running away and gave me a hot chase. It was by sheer providence that I was able to escape with my life.”

He said some of his belongings were smuggled out of his apartment, little by little, by a relative and he is aware people of his community and even in his business place are on the lookout for him.

He said because of the laws of Nigeria and the discrimination against gays, he could not report the matter to the Nigeria Police, as he is afraid that he would be apprehended.

He called on the international community to come to his aid, as he does not know what else to do and how to return to his normal life.

He said he had been surviving due to the benevolence of some of his friends and he is wondering how long before things gets worse.