Within seconds, a birthday party at a Lagos hotel turned into a stampede as people fled armed policemen who had burst into the compound. Around 2 AM Sunday morning, people streamed out of the building, running in every direction (1/6)
Standing behind a bank of microphones, the Lagos state police commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, told the gathered journalists that he personally had ordered the raid that swept up the men after the authorities received a tipoff that young men were being initiated into a “homosexual club.”Some of the Nigerian men arrested on charges of public display of affection with members of the same sex stand beside the gate of the Federal High Court.
“What is the definition of a gay? It is when you are caught having sex, intercourse, with a guy. They didn’t caught me,” shouted James Brown, a wiry young man who said he had been hired to dance at a birthday party and had done nothing wrong.Police raided the Kelly Ann Hotel in the late-night hours in August 2018, arresting 57 men.The phrase “they didn’t caught me” quickly went viral. Video footage of the August 2018 news conference has since been viewed more than half a million times.
These are the stories of lives broken by a birthday party late one night in Lagos – and by a culture that has cast the men adrift.Oghuaghamba helps his son with his homework. He says his four boys heard about the innuendo swirling around their father. Assuming the dozens of people who raced past him were fleeing danger, Oguaghamba said, he got out of the car and ran. Before he could reach the hotel compound’s gates, however, he was pulled to the ground and struck repeatedly on his head. Seconds later, he said, he realised he was being held by a policeman using a gun as a bludgeon. Lagos state police spokesman Bala Elkana declined to comment on the beating claim on the grounds that the raid happened before his tenure began.
“I felt so bad, although they didn’t understand what gay means,” he said. “They asked me why police arrested me and they were showing me on television. I explained to them that the police can arrest anybody at any time.”Juliette Oguaghamba with two of her sons. She said "it was very difficult for us" after her husband was arrested in the raid.
“She suffered a lot to bail me out,” Oguaghamba said. Aside from the money, there was the indignity of a policewoman at the station accusing Juliette of having a gay husband. “When I got back,” he said, “we started having issues.” The house was dark because the electricity had been turned off weeks after the annual rent was due in October. Oguaghamba said he was able to pay some, but not all, of the money. The landlord has threatened to evict the family if it can’t pay the outstanding sum.“I’m angry because what they are saying is not fact,” he said. “They shared my pictures and video on social media. It's a very shameful thing.”A woman and child rest in the room where the birthday party was being held in August 2018.
Edgal, the commissioner who said he personally ordered the raid, left office early last year for a commissioner position in southern Nigeria. He didn’t respond to requests for comment on the raid. Xeenarh Mohammed, executive director of Nigerian rights group the Initiative for Equal Rights, which has been providing legal and counselling support for the men arrested in the raid, said the law prohibiting same-sex unions “has simply been used again and again and again to harass people, to pick people for perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.”A gay couple at a club in Lagos. Homophobia runs deep in Nigeria.
In addition to the national same-sex law, 12 of Nigeria’s 36 states apply Sharia law. In those states, in the predominantly Muslim north of the country, same-sex acts carry maximum penalties of death for men and whipping and/or imprisonment for women. Cases are infrequent, however, which means the punishment is rarely carried out.
Agiriga’s aunt took him to her church and arranged for her pastor to house him on the premises. Agiriga slept on the floor of an outhouse that he shared with another homeless man who had been taken in by the church.Agiriga walks with a friend on the streets of Mushin. Olubiyi Oludipe, executive director of the Improved Sexual Health & Rights Advocacy Initiative, said Agiriga had already been “disengaged” when the raid happened, but was unable to specify when. He said Agiriga’s performance hadn’t been satisfactory but declined to elaborate further.After he lost his job in the wake of the raid, Agiriga made money doing alterations.
“I'm always scared,” the diminutive 25-year-old said, recounting an attack that took place last year in which a group of men called him out as the “gay guy who was arrested” and stole his phone, money and wristwatch. “It has not been easy,” he said. “At some point I had to move on, not minding the stigma, the discrimination and the dirty language.”James Burutu, who was celebrating his birthday when the raid went down, smokes a cigarette in a local bar.
But even though he wasn’t arrested, the raid also changed his life. He says he has been ostracised by relatives. “So many of my family members don’t want to see me because of this issue,” he said.Burutu and Agiriga became friends after the raid.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Strongwoman Kathleen Krausse Bends 8 Frying Pans in Half in World Record VideoStrongwoman Kathleeen Krausse is seen bending and rolling eight frying in half in a newly resurfaced viral video to break a Guinness World Record.
Read more »
'Best Day Of His Life:' Bullying Victim Quaden Bayles Leads Out All-Star Rugby TeamDays earlier, video of the 9-year-old breaking down over taunts about his dwarfism went viral.
Read more »
A 9-year-old bullied to the brink led an Australian rugby team to a roaring crowdQuaden Bayles, an Aboriginal Australian with a rare bone growth disorder, captured the world's attention this week in a viral video detailing the bullying he has received.
Read more »
Bullied Australian boy has ‘best day of his life’ as he leads out rugby team, mom saysQuaden Bayles, who went viral after his mom posted a video of his reaction to getting bullied, had the 'best day of his life' leading Australia's Indigenous All-Stars rugby league team out onto the field, his mom says.
Read more »