On New Years day one of the country's leading male actors Ik Ogbonna posted via social media, "...Don't turn gay...Stay straight 2014 is your year." Whatever that means, I don't know, but what's interesting is prior to that posting Ogbonna found himself having to debunk gay rumors.
When asked about his sexuality, he said:
"...the truth is I love women. God created man for woman not the other way round. Leviticus 8 verse 22 where the Bible tells us it is forbidden for a man to be with a man...Gay is a very deadly thing and I an someone that respects God a lot. I know I am very adventurous and I have a very high fashion sense. You can see me wearing a three-quarter pants, colorful things and thank God for making me a fine boy."And its those ideals that are assisting in the relentless persecution of gays and lesbians in Nigeria. Most recently two men who were presumed to be gay, were forced from their home and forced to masturbate and have anal sex while a crowd of onlookers jeered in mob ‘justice’ attack:
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| Actual screen capture from the horrific video of the Nigerian men being forced to masturbate and have anal sex while being filmed in public. |
The vigilantes are heard jeering on the explicit video as they make the two men masturbate each other and then have anal sex outside.
A large crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the men’s humiliation.
The video is reported by Nigerian sources on the ground to have come from Port Harcourt, a city with a population of almost 2million including its suburban area, in the south of the country.
It is believed it was filmed last Tuesday (28 January).
The exact details of the case – beyond what is captured on the video – are impossible to confirm.
But GSN was told the alleged couple were informed on as being homosexual.
A crowd gathered, forced them to leave the house and made them ‘re-enact’ the ‘homosexual acts’ they allegedly were carrying out in private.
The footage was then shared on social media.
It comes in the wake of the new Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act becoming law. Dubbed the Jail All The Gays law, it further criminalizes homosexuality and LGBTI people in the country.
Nigerian gay activist Bisi Alimi told GSN: ‘This law gives ordinary people the opportunity to carry mob justice out and Nigeria is known for this.
‘They don’t go to the police because they know the police will just collect money so they administer the punishment themselves but no judge has pronounced them guilty.’
GSN has seen the video but is not embedding to avoid exposing the two men to further danger and humiliation and because of its extremely explicit nature. The photo has been blurred to protect them.
[GAY STAR NETWORK][NAIJA GIST]