Going by the kind of lawlessness that pervades our society, Nigeria might just be the most homophobic country where everyone is turning police on LGBT matter.
There are indications that since the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan in January 2014, several innocent people have been harassed, intimidated and arrested even on the basis of suspicion. The most appalling situation is that everyone has turned themselves to moral police, with miscreants and local police taking a lead in what could be described as a deliberate search for gays and lesbians for possible humiliation, and, in some cases, jungle justice. Some of these actors also act as religious advocates who claim they are cleansing the land of immorality. Their fanatical disposition has merely been further fuelled by the law, leveraging on longstanding Islamic rules that have often criminalized homosexual act, especially in the northern parts of Nigeria.
There is no gainsaying that this draconian anti-gay law has trampled human rights through illegal crackdowns even by law enforcement agencies.
Shortly after signing into law, the SSMP Act, a mob in Abuja had attacked homes, dragging young men out and beating them up. The shaming of these people had led many to flee their homes and employments, while their family members have been subjected to stigmatization.
I think the law appears to have given impetus to lawlessness, especially with government not reacting to incidents of jungle justices. On the other hand, it is easy for the government and the law enforcement agencies to pretend that they are not aware of these mob actions because the victims cannot approach a police station over their treatment for fear of being subjected to further ugly experience.
The law, in appearance is claiming to target SSM, but in reality, criminalizing every related relationship, including homosexuality and aiding a public show-of-same of them all by imposing a 10-year sentence on all those who “register, operate, or participate in gay clubs, societies, and organizations.”
A New York Times report gave an insight into how SSMP Act has resulted in ugly measures on gays and suspected gays in Nigeria.
The report reads: “A mob attacked gay people in a neighborhood in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, dragging young men from their homes, beating them with nail-studded clubs and whips, and shouting that they were “cleansing the community” of gays… One victim was beaten nearly to death… Afterward, the mob of about 50 young men dragged four of the victims to a nearby police station, where the police further beat and insulted them…”
The above is just one of the situations, has local news have several of such actions on gays and suspected gays in various localities far from the record of the media.
