A United States-based Nigerian woman, Olaore Abosede Gbemisola, has recounted her ordeal in the hands of the police and members of her community after being accused of engaging in a same-sex relationship.
Gbemisola, who now resides in the U.S., said she was subjected to arrest, exploitation, and stigmatization in Nigeria following allegations of involvement in homosexuality, an act outlawed under the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan on January 7, 2014.
The law prescribes 14 years imprisonment for offenders.
Narrating her experience, Gbemisola explained that she had traveled to England on November 1, 2014, for a 16-day holiday, and later to the United States on April 1, 2016, where she gave birth to her daughter, Michelle Oluwasikemi Olaore.
“On May 15, 2016, after giving birth in the United States, I went back to Nigeria, and that was when I was arrested and exploited by the police. That was why I ran back to the United States on October 30, 2016, because only my U.S. visa was valid at that time, while my U.K. visa had already expired,” she recounted.
She alleged that during her arrest, she was “exploited sexually and financially” by law enforcement agents and threatened with a possible jail term.
“I suffered stigmatization and rejection from people in my community, including my relations, because of the rumor that I engaged in a same-sex relationship. The police detained me in their car for several hours in my neighborhood, but because my family was able to pay some amount, I was released,” she said.
The development echoes other incidents linked to Nigeria’s anti-gay law. In 2019, 47 men were arrested in Egbeda, Lagos State, and tried for alleged public displays of affection with members of the same sex.
The men were among 57 picked up during a police raid on a hotel in the area.
