Refugee Week ambassador. ‘I feel like it wasn’t meaningless suffering because I can help other people – I can be a source of advice and comfort.’Nigerian nationals have accounted for some of the highest numbers of UK asylum claims based on their sexuality over the past five years, with a 47% increase in 2019 alone.It is largely put down to the introduction of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, passed in 2014 by Nigeria’s former president Goodluck Jonathan, which effectively bans homosexuality.Under the law, gay marriage or sex is punishable by up to 14 years behind bars, while public displays of affection or membership of gay rights groups carry up to a 10-year sentence.