Mob beats up 20 suspected Nigerian homosexuals

Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…

Location of Jos in Nigeria (Map courtesy of WiderNet.org)

About 20 innocent young men were severely beaten in the Sabo Fagi area of Jos, Nigeria, by a mob who claimed that the youths were homosexuals.

The June 19 incident 9, left many youths bleeding profusely. According to a human rights activist on the scene, youths were individually hunted and abducted from their homes by the mob. He said:

“These men were shown no mercy at all, even as they do not have any proof whatsoever that they are homosexuals. They were badly beaten. It got to a point where the father of one of the victims tried to stop the mob from beating his son, but he too was beaten along with his son. It was a bad sight.”

According to one activist who spoke to NoStrings, the attack was triggered when parents, who suspected their son was gay, were told that it was true by a doctor who performed an anal examination on him with their permission. He also said that he believes that somehow that information got out, which prompted a mob to launch its attack, targeting effeminate men around the area, especially friends of the young man who was identified as gay. He said:

“Most of the men that were targeted looked feminine, and because of the misconception that gay men are feminine, they were targeted and heavily beaten.”

The victims have refused to take legal action for fear that their names would be publicized, which would further humiliate them.

“Some of the victims no longer feel safe around the area and are making plans to flee the area, as some people may choose to hurt them again,” he said

Some of the victims are receiving treatments with the support of the area’s human rights organizations and the victims’ families, he said.

Commentary

Clearly, this is unjust, cruel, inhumane and criminal. We should all speak up against such actions by ordinary Nigerians who shouldn’t be taking laws into their own hands.

These young men are human beings with lives and blood in their veins, and for God’s sake they have not done anything wrong at all. They do not deserve to be treated with less dignity, as this is against their constitutional and fundamental human rights accorded them by the statue of their birth and their very existence.

We have a system here Nigeria when it comes to dealing with matters of this sort, and people should be able to respect these systems if we really want to live in chaos-free society.

We here at NoStrings condemn these acts, and is therefore calling on concerned citizens and individuals to speak up against all forms of injustice and barbaric acts perpetrated against members of the society. We all need to do so, if we want a better future for ourselves and future generations.

This is obviously not the first time that suspected LGBT Nigerians have been trapped and beaten. When will it stop?

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