ABEOKUTA – A gay man, Olatunji Olumide Damilola has died after a mob attack on him and his partner, Adesoye Oluwasogo Abiodun in Ayetoro, Ogun State.
They were reportedly caught in the act deemed despicable in Nigerian society and beaten to stupor by the angry residents in the neighbourhood.
THE ENCOUNTER NEWS gathered that the incident occured in last December in Ayetoro, Yewa North Local Government of the state.
Gay practice is prohibited in most African countries and in Nigeria specifically, the offence attracts 14 years in prison.
The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which banned gay relationships and entrenched intolerance of sexual minorities in Nigerian society, was signed by Goodluck Jonathan, then president, in January 2014.
Luck ran against Oluwasogo and Damilola who were caught in Ayetoro, Yewa North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
According to reports, Oluwasogo, a 39 year old father of three, had been engaging in the “immoral act” with Damilola for months before they were eventually caught.
According to them, Damilola’s girlfriend got a hint of the relationship between her lover and Oluwasogo, she became jealous and decided to set the gay partners up for humiliation and public ridicule.
On the fateful day, the witnesses said, the gay partners were in a hotel room having fun when the residents, comprising young men and women broke into the room, dragged the duo out and pounced on them heavily.
The father of three and his partner were stripped naked and beaten to stupor.
The police men later arrived at the scene, took possession of the victims and threw them to the back of the patrol van, unclad.
“The two of them have been involved in the crazy and despicable act for a long time.
“The girlfriend of Damilola has been monitoring them and decided that she was going to set them up.
“That particular day, the Lady had invited some youths and residents in the area to help ‘teach’ the gay partners some lessons.
“They were having fun when those youths wielding sticks and machetes broke into the hotel room, dragged them out naked and started beating them. It was a severe torture and humiliation.
“In the process, the police came. Many of us thought the police would rescue them but we were wrong.
“The Police carried them and pushed them into the patrol van. It was another round of humiliation as they paraded them in full gare naked.
“Olatunji passed out due to the severe beating. He was rushed to the hospital where he was confirmed dead,” a witness said.
It was gathered that Oluwasogo was able to escape from the police’s net and disappeared into the thin air.
Not satisfied, it was further gathered that the mob about two weeks later in search of Oluwasogo stormed his house, destroyed his property and set the house ablaze.
The angry residents also invaded his farmland and destroyed all the crops on the farm.
“As I speak with you, the family doesn’t know his whereabouts,” a family source said.
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