Since Nigeria passed a law criminalising same sex marriage
and gay organisations in 2013, law enforcement agents have cracked down on
people suspected of homosexuality. However, arrests are infrequent as
homosexual people live in hiding. Gay people live in fear and cannot openly
express their sexual orientation. They are not protected by any law so they
face discrimination.
In the Northern part of Nigeria, there is a death penalty
for people convicted of same-sex offences which in other states carry a 14-year
jail term.
These are the kinds of punishment to that will be meted out
against one woman called Damola Omotayo who has been on the run as a result of
her involvement in homosexuality with her partner despite being married and
blesses with kids.
Damola Omotayo, a mother of three who is married to one Oluwasogo Omotayo was arrested by members of the community with her lesbian partner Tope in her residence at No 22, Oju-oja street, Ota, Ogun state when they were caught by neighbour who saw them in the act and reported them to the elders of Oju Oja community in Sango Ota area. The incident happened on the 22nd of March, 2018.
According to reports, they were later handed over to the
community head who passed a verdict on them to undergo tough and stringent
ritual cleansing because what they have done is against the law of the
community and the land at large. The community leader said they have desecrated
the law of the land and they have to face the law by taking them to a shrine
for ritual rites.
After every other things had been put in place for the
ritual rites, while waiting for the guards to bring Damola and Tope, one of the
guards rushed down to the shrine to break the news that Damola had fled and
only Tope was left in the hut. The community head ordered for her search but
all efforts to bring back her proved abortive.
As at the time of filing this report, the community leaders
are still in shock as to who and how Damola was rescued. Efforts are still on
to bring her back to appease the gods of the land. Her family has been
contacted to know her whereabouts but no one could point out where she is, not
even the police authority.
Many married women take to frolicking with other women in
Nigeria and this trend it becoming worrisome to government authorities. To the
ladies who engages in this abomination, some of them are of the belief that a
lesbian partner hardly hits her lover, unlike some men who are seen to be
maltreating their spouse.
Homosexual acts are punishable in Nigeria with 14 years in
jail, while gay marriage and displays of same-sex affection are also also
punishable by the government.