Four men accused of homosexuality beaten, chased out of Nigerian city
Four young men have been beaten and chased out of a Nigerian city after they were found engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity.
An angry mob paraded the four men, who were only wearing boxing shorts, down Nomayo Street in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, on Nov.
17. One of them had a visible deep cut on his forehead as a result of the beating. The mob threatened to kill them if they were to return to the city.
It also questioned why they were “into” homosexuality when there were many women in the area. Samson Mikel, a Nigerian LGBTQ activist, said the attack was misdirected anger. “Benin City is one of the backward places in Nigeria and a dorm for scammers and other crimes, the people are proud of their roughness, they are never concerned about these other crimes or how the government is impoverishing them, but will light gay men on fire the moment they think,” said Mikel. “All they want is to live and experience love.
