In late October 2025, 23-year-old graduate of the University of Port Harcourt Hilary Ikechukwu Emereole was fatally attacked in Port Harcourt in what is believed to be a homophobic “kito” incident, which involves the targeting and blackmailing of queer individuals through social media and dating apps.
He was lured, beaten, and thrown from a building, reportedly two or three storeys high, dying from severe injuries shortly thereafter. 
His funeral in early February 2026 drew a crowd outside his family’s home in Owerri, Imo State, where attendees celebrated his death and shouted homophobic slurs, underscoring the societal prejudice faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in Nigeria.
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The cost of being gay in Nigeria
There’s a popular song by Dan Papa that goes thus, “No go thief for Ikeja; Ikeja no be Mecca, dem go put you for centre.”
Nigerians are long known for practising the barbaric act of jungle justice; they are quick to kill by any means. Anyone accused of committing any crime, once he is found in an unscrupulous neighbourhood, will most likely be lynched, without verification or investigation; case in point is the ALUU 4.
If there’s one thing the general public claim to have an aversion for, it’s homosexual and lesbian acts, even between consensual adults, but even if it’s non-consensual, surely the solution is not to pummell someone to their death.
Nigeria penalises homosexual acts with 14 years’ imprisonment, and it is a law that have been enforced with many arrests though the sentencing hasn’t been easy. If you recall, Nigerian Influencer James Brown‘s Viral video when he was arrested, he said, “I am not a gay”. Additionally, in 2023, over 50 people who attended a gay wedding in Gombe State were arrested.
The truth? Nigeria has a thriving community of these gay and lesbian individuals both in rural and open areas. In Lagos, for instance, they have a underground community, where they have parties and raves. Wikipedia even estimates at least 20 million gay people in Nigeria, though they are most likely more.
I recently watched a video of a gay man being chased on the street and being beaten, and I wondered, instead of the relentless witch hunt, ‘Why not just let gay people live their lives, if they are not hurting anyone?‘ What happened to the dignity of humans? Shouldn’t we be treating our corrupt politicians that way instead?
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