Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013 has made a bad situation much worse for Nigeria’s beleaguered lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.
The law has led to an increase in extortion and violence against people in these categories, and imposed restrictions on non-governmental organizations providing essential services to them in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s anti-gay law, enacted in January 2014 by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, stipulates a 14-year prison term for anyone convicted of having sex with members of the same sex. The Nigerian government put the law to the test for the first time in December 2019 when 47 men arrested by the police in a hotel in Lagos the previous year were arraigned in court, accused of publicly displaying affection for members of the same sex.
A similar scenario played out in Delta State, South-south Nigeria, where the Nigerian police arrested “over a hundred gay amd bisexual suspects in a hotel carrying out a gay wedding ceremony.”
Akinbobola Gbenga, a 48-year-old bisexual man born in Nigeria, was among the 100 gay and bisexual men arrested in the Delta Hotel. He is still hidden in an unknown place due to persecution.
Benjamin, a Savannah Newsnow investigative journalist, confirmed authoritatively that Akinbobola got married to Priscilla Akinbobola sometime in 2005 to cover his bisexual activities.
They had two children together. It was also gathered that the aforementioned name has been involved in this unpardonable offense in Nigeria since he was in the higher institution. Akinbobola, an Economics graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye.
Gbenga Akinbobola, before his arrest, has been repeatedly harassed, threatened, and tortured by the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), a private militia that has been known to attack lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.
The first time he was assaulted occurred in November 2019, when he was at his apartment with his partner in Ota, Ogun State. While they were having sex, a neighbor walked into the unlocked apartment without knocking. The neighbor began to scream and call for other neighbors to arrive. Approximately 9 people came and began beating him and his partner with rubber canes and belts.
OPC abducted and detained him and his partner, accusing them of being bisexual, a forbidden act in Nigeria. They were held for 15 days, kept naked and blindfolded, and were severely beaten. The group also tortured him by inserting a wax candle into his anus and lighting it. After release, he and his partner did not report the OPC to the police because homosexuality is illegal in Nigeria, and they believed they, instead of the people who tortured them, would be punished.
He contacted his friends in Delta State and narrated his ordeal to them. He was told to come over to Delta State to hide for short period. He obliged and moved in to Delta with his partner. They actually thought they would be safer from the OPC or being exposed to the public after they were caught in their room.
Mr. Gbenga Akinbobola continued enjoying life with his partner in Delta State until he was caught and arrested along with 99 others while attending a wedding of one of their members in a hotel.
A police spokesperson in the southern Delta state told reporters that 100 people will be prosecuted for “allegedly conducting and attending a same-sex wedding ceremony.” In a live broadcast after the arrest, a police official described the event as evil and “we cannot copy the western world. He emphasized, “We are Nigeria, and we must follow the culture of this country.”
Amnesty International Nigeria condemned the situation as “a witch-hunt.” It called on Delta state police to release the detained people, who were “arrested and paraded to the media” and to “put an immediate end to this witch-hunt,” The statement was made on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Upon interrogation, Akinbobola Gbenga confessed that he is a member of a certain bisexual group.
Akinbobola Gbenga also confessed to Savannah News investigative journalist, Mr Benjamin who interrogated him while in detention with other members.
According to Mr Akinbobola Statement: “I was very young when I was first attracted to other boys. That is how I know my sexuality has always been there. Because I was so young, I didn’t understand what was happening or why. If I shared a bed with a male friend—in the normal way that children do—I would get a special feeling inside. It was a warm, fuzzy sensation and it would make me feel both excited and nervous. These feelings grew stronger as I became a teenager. Suddenly I found myself thinking about kissing boys.
“Hearing my brothers talk about girls made it clear that I was different to them. It was confusing because my desires felt natural to me. I had felt like this, in some form or another, my whole life. Still, I was scared about telling people. Difference is not always welcomed in Nigeria, and I knew better than to disclose what I was feeling. The best thing to do, I decided, was to stay silent”; Akinbobola said.
To further establish the truth, Mr Benjamin, the Savannah Newsnow journalist contacted Priscilla Akinbobola, the wife of the offender Akinbobola Gbenga if she was aware that her husband (Akinbobola Gbenga) is actually bisexual before she married him.
Priscilla Akinbobola confessed her love for him (Akinbobola Gbenga) and stressed that her life and that of her daughters are constantly under threats from OPC and the police as they continuously harass her at will in an attempt to arrest Gbenga.
In her statement:“I believe that my husband deserves the freedom of sexuality and speech and my family the right to life.
“The Nigerian authorities must stop these humiliating raids and misusing laws to harass and arrest people accused of same-sex activity. It is appalling that the police can arbitrarily bring criminal charges against people based on judgements of how they are dressed or how they choose their sexual lives.
“No one should be targeted and arrested because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. The Nigeria Police should be prioritizing keeping everyone safe, not stoking more discrimination.”
Police began torturing him and molesting him for involving in an unpardonable offense under the Nigerian constitution. In all of this, he managed to escape from the police facility due to the laxity in Nigeria’s security system.
Having escaped from the police facility, his name was taken by local media and splashed across newspapers around the nation. This is where his parents, friends, and foes got to know Akinbobola is a bisexual. This is where he started experiencing hell on earth.
Savannah News also confirmed authoritatively that Akinbobola Gbenga was molested for being bisexual while he was in detention. He was beaten up mercilessly by police officers. Priscilla Akinbobola also confirmed that her husband and the children are currently being taunted by friends and foes.
As of the time of publishing this story, current location of Akinbobola Gbenga is not known to anyone.
