Hate Crimes against LGBTQ people in Nigeria are not new; It’s the experience of most, if not all LGBTQ persons. And hate crimes take different forms; police and citizen assault, expulsion from school, home, or work, denial of accommodation, and even murder. It’s why organisations like The Initiative for Equal Rights in Nigeria dedicate most of their resources to bail, advocacy, and the annual Human Rights Violation Report.
Homophobia in Nigeria got institutionalized in 2014 when the former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan signed the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which not only bans gay marriage but also confers 10-year prison terms on “any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations or directly or indirectly makes a public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria”.
Recently, a video surfaced on the internet that immediately went viral. In the video, 2 men in Imo state, disguising to be gay, set up a gay man, extorted and then murdered him afterwards.
A gay man was set up and murdered by two homophobes yesterday in Imo state. This is sick and unacceptable because this man thought the other guy he was trying to hook up with was gay, unknowingly for him the scum was a homophobe that disguised as a gay person online pic.twitter.com/1l5v2PTIhh
— Son of the rainbow🌈 (@Blaise_21) March 9, 2020
After the video got enough traction, it sparked outrage amongst LGBTQ persons and advocates online, trending the hashtag #EndHomophobiainNigeria.
Some of the tweets from the trending hashtag are;
When I moved back to Nigeria, the very first gay friend I made was murdered in a hotel by a man who lured him there for sex. Another friend visited someone and was held there for weeks and beaten by a gang. This crap has gone on for years and need to stop.#EndHomophobiaInNigeria https://t.co/b63lfinMGO
— Ethan Regal (@Ethan_Regal) March 10, 2020
I was raped and robbed because I am gay
I couldn’t report or get any form of justice because reporting would most likely endanger my life more
I started having anxiety because of the incident
I was scared and I’m still really scared#EndHomophobiaInNigeria— Wild One 🌈🌈 (@_WILDJHAE) March 10, 2020
i almost got killed/viciously assaulted just last week and this is just a tip of what queer people face in Nigeria everyday. homophobia is stressful and senseless and it has to end!! #EndHomophobiaInNigeria
— goofy! goofy!! (@nelsoncj3) March 10, 2020
Homophobes are funny. When they bring up a reason & it doesn’t work, they keep running round trying to find another. You say it’s not our religion/tradition, we say traditions can change I.e killing of twins. You leave it & say it’s rape/pedophilia, we say #EndHomophobiaInNigeria
— ebele. (@ebelee_) March 10, 2020
HOMOPHOBIA KILLS GAY PEOPLE
HOMOPHOBIA DEPRIVE GAY PEOPLE OF JOBS
HOMOPHOBIA TOILS WITH OUR MENTAL HEALTH
HOMOPHOBIA WILL NEVER CHANGE GAY PEOPLE
HOMOPHOBIA LEADS TO HIGH SUICIDE RATE
HOMOPHOBIA SHOULD STOP!#EndHomophobiaInNigeria
— Son of the rainbow🌈 (@Blaise_21) March 10, 2020
And it’s just not this case, homophobia as seen from the tweets has been such a critical factor in the lives of LGBTQ persons who navigate life and lviing in Nigeria. “Homophobia is a senseless business that requires too much energy that continues to cost us a lot as regards social unity, cultural evolution, economic balance and political advancement. With homophobia, everyone loses,” Writer, Nelson CJ says. Young Queer Advocate, Matthew Blaise adds “Gay people are constantly being extorted, raped, assaulted, harassed, killed, and no one seems to be bothered about the conversation around our safety. Our safety is very important to talk about because we are not just humans but citizens of this country”.
To this effect, there is an ongoing petition on change.org to compel the Nigerian Police Force to open an active investigation on the murder confessed on the tape circulating online. You can sign the petition here.
Not another LGBTQ+ person in Nigeria should have to face this.
#EndHomophobiainNigeria
