Ebenator Ekwe autonomous Community in Isu Local Government Area of Imo state is in the throes of an endless war against the increasing menace of homosexuality.
The Ekwe people are not alone in the fight against.this moral scourge. From 2014, when Nigeria passed the same sex prohibition law, reports from journalists and human rights groups indicate rising cases of homosexuality across Nigeria with attendant arrests,harassment, brutality and in some cases death of LGBT persons occasioned by mob action.
On January 7,2014, Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, signed the Same-sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill (SSMPA) into law. The notional purpose of the SSMPA is to prohibit marriage between persons of same sex. In reality, its scope is much wilder. The law forbids any cohabitation between same sex sexual partners and bans any public show of same sex amorous relationship. The SSMPA imposes a 14 year prison sentence on anyone who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations or supports the activities of such organizations. Punishments are severe, ranging from 10 to14 years in prison. Such provisions build on existing legislation in Nigeria , but go much further : while the colonial-era criminal and penal codes outlawed sexual acts between members of the same sex, the SSMPA effectively criminalizes lesbians, gay, bisexual and transgender( LGBT) persons based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
But far beyond the SSMPA, most Nigerian communities strictly forbid same sex marriage or relationship. Homosexuality or same sex marriage is regarded as a taboo. The traditional punishments in most automous communities include among other dehumanizing and terrifying acts, being paraded nude publicly while being pestered with stones , raw eggs and other materials that could cause bodily injuries and which often lead to the death of suspect or suspects.
However, more worrisome is the spontaneous jungle justice meted out .to gay suspects by angry mob. For instance,in February 2014 in Girshiri village, Abuja, a group of approximately 50 people armed with matchets, clobs,whips and metal wire, dragged people from their homes and severely beat at least 14 men whom they suspected of being gay. Three of them later died as a result of the injuries inflicted on them.
Arbitrary arrests and extortion by police is commonplace under the SSMPA. Faced with 14 years imprisonment, several suspects had to pay to regain their freedom from police custody.
For the people of Ekwe autonomous Community, what began as mere social nuisance has gradually crept into the fabric of the community ; young men from the village are now reportedly caught in the web of homosexuality. In January 2013, three men from Ekwe Community were brutally assaulted and humiliated after allegedly being caught having gay sex.At the orders of the traditional ruler of Ekwe autonomous Communit,they were stripped naked,tied in ropes and paraded publicly in the community. They were brutally beaten and dragged to the palace of the traditional ruler of the community. One of them eventually died in the course of the traditional cleansing ceremony while the rest were handed over to the police for prosecution. Their fate is still hanging in the balance.
As if hit by an epidemic, the Ekwe Community was once again in the news in October 2015 when one Osondu Onyebuchi Benjamin, an indigene of the community and his partner, simply identified as Mr Madumere, who runs a multi- million business outfit in Owerri , were allegedly caught in the act. Mr Madumere is based in the United Kingdom but frequents home while Osondu Onyebuchi Benjamin is a science teacher at International Model Secondary School, Umundugba in Isu Local Government Area of Imo state.
Both men were said to regularly visit the popular Concord Hotel in Owerri where the business man maintains a private suite each time he visits Nigeria. The duo were said to have ran out of luck on October 24,2015 when a waitress in the hotel allegedly caught them in the act. She was said to have raised the alarm but the two suspects bolted away from the hotel before a crowd of angry and inquisitive passers-by had gathered. Unfortunately for both men, the odious news spread quickly like a harmattan fire. The people of Ekwe were shocked that one of their sons had once again been caught in the moral scourge called homosexuality.
The community elders were furious, the youths demanded that both men must be brought to face the consequences of their indecent sexual behaviour.
Angry youths from the community , in a feat of publc anger, burnt down several properties and business premises belonging to Mr Madumere.
Osondu Onyebuchi Benjamin was consequently summoned to appear before the Ekwe Community Council of Elders but he could not muster the courage to do so. He knew that the evidence against him and his partner were glaring and overwhelming. His girlfriend who is a friend to the waitress, had joined in the public outcry to prosecute him. She felt cheated and jilted. “Benji must pay for his action. He was merely using me as a cover, pretending to be a normal person. I didn’t know he is gay”, his girlfriend was reported to have told a local radio station in the area.
The NIGERIAN OBSERVER gathered that the school authority had immediately the incident was reported, relieved him of his appointment as a science teacher with the school.
” Benjamin is an embarrassment to the school. As a gay, he lacks the moral right to stand as a teacher before the children in this school”, a source in the administrative department of the school was quoted to have told journalists.
The NIGERIAN OBSERVER further learnt that Benjamin’s immediate family members have constantly been subjected to publc riddicule by some angry youths in Ekwe Community.
Faced with the consequences of being paraded nude publicly and the fear of an imminent attack by angry mob or a probable 14 years imprisonment, Benjamin had since gone into hiding even as his fate contiinues to hang precariously in danger.
Following report lodged by the traditional ruler of Ekwe autonomous Community, Osondu Onyebuchi Benjamin and Mr Madumere have been declared wanted for sodomy by the police.
It was also gathered that the operatives of the Imo state Civil Guards and the local vigilante group known as the “Bakassi Boys’ who are notorious for their brutality, have been mandated to hunt down both men and bring them to justice.
