Nigerian police save 2 alleged homosexuals from being killed

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

Location of Enugu in Nigeria and of Nigeria in West Africa (Map courtesy of WorldAtlas.com)

Police in Enugu have rescued two men accused of being homosexuals from a mob who almost lynched them to death at Coal camp in Enugu.

The incident is said have happened in Enugu on the 17th of July, and the two men are identified as Nonso Ejimene, 22, an accountancy student in one of the tertiary institutions in the state, and Odinaka Orji, 32, a driver.

According to a statement released by Enugu state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ebere Amarizu, both men had been stripped naked by an angry mob before police officers arrived on the scene to arrest the two men.

According to the police, during an interrogation, Nonso Ejimene, from Ezeagu Local Government Area, confessed (possibly out of fear) that he was indeed gay, but had “changed” (and then in a bid to save himself from the shame and humiliation) he claimed that it was under “satanic influences” that he tried to engage a relationship with one of the boys staying with Odinaka, also known as Chimezie.

Also according to the police, Odinaka, a married man from Oji River Local Government Area, said his wife had left him after she discovered that he was gay.

The police also said that Odinaka told them that he has tried several times to “cure” himself from homosexuality and has even visited many pastors for help, but nothing worked.

Of course, such attempts fail, because a person cannot change their sexual orientation, and homosexuality is not an illness nor a disease that needs to be cured. Homosexuality is natural; being gay is normal, as several research studies have proven.

According to the police, Odinaka confessed that he tried to initiate a relationship with a boy living in the room with him. The boy ran out of the room and raised an alarm, which drew the attention of the mob who took laws into their own hands. They beat him almost to death before police arrived on the scene to arrest them.

Both men have been taken into custody and are now helping police with their investigations, police said.

Taking laws into one’s hands is a crime. A survey conducted by Nigeria-based NOI Polls in 2014 showed that a “lack of trust in law enforcement agencies” and “illiteracy and the lack of awareness of laws” are major factors contributing to the problem of jungle justice in Nigeria.

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No law says that people should be beaten or abused based on their real or perceived sexual orientation. At a minimum, a court needs to determine what action should be taken.

One further comment: When someone makes unwelcome sexual advances to another, the only correct and polite thing for any reasonable person to do, is to say “No” and walk away. Simple.

Also see “Enugu police saves alleged homosexuals from being killed by a mob” and much more on the NoStringsNG website.

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