A young man Azeez Ayomide Aro has gone into hiding over his Alleged secret affair with another man in Ibara community, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Azeez was said to have been caught pants down with his partner simply identified as Mr Wilson, his former sports instructor and confidant on November 10, 2021, drawing public anger and attack because such behavior is considered abominable in many Nigerian society including Ogun.
Curious neighbours who spoke with our correspondent said both Azeez and Wilson were caught in the act by Wilson’s wife who promptly raised the alarm that attracted angry neighbors to the scene.
Furious as they were, the community was disappointed when they could find neither Wilson nor Azeez who in the midst of wailing reportedly scaled the fence and escaped through the back yard.
Their escape not withstanding, the community instigated by Mrs WIlson has launched a manhunt for Azeez, threatening to mob him to death when ever they find him.
The fate of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender persons in Nigeria hangs in the balance as the clamp down on them by local people and the police has increased especially in the South West region of the country.
Several LGBT persons had been killed by irate mobs expressing their disgust and disapproval to same sex relationship in traditional communities of which Ibara Ogun State is one.
Besides community abhorrence, same sex relationship is criminalized in Nigeria under the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2013, prescribing prison terms of 14 years and below if offenders are found guilty.
Most traditional African communities abhor activities of LGBT because they are considered as serious abomination to the gods of the land. Therefore, such taboos must not be tolerated, and attracting severe punishment including banishment in many cultures.
As a result of this, many LGBT members have been killed through the means of jungle justice while several others have narrowly escaped death but not without injuries inflicted on them by the locals who happily take the laws into their hands.
Sensing danger as a result of threats from his bisexual partner’s wife and the phone calls from strange numbers, Azeez may not be able to move freely again for a long time to come.
Meanwhile, Azeez is said to be in hiding, and could not go to the police to report the threats to his life by some hired thugs who had beaten him up as a result of his sex orientation because, same sex relationship has been criminalized in Nigeria under the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013.
As at the time of filing this report, the whereabouts of Azeez remained unknown.
