BY
ATIA AZOHNWI
 |
| John Emeka |
John Emeka, a 23-year-old
Nigerian youth living in Anambra State is now on the run following a warrant
for his arrest over acts of homosexuality.
A police source told us
yesterday that the said Emeka is a notorious homosexual believed to have been
initiated into the practice by a teacher, a certain Vincent Fiberesima.
“We are talking here about
someone whose homosexual history is dirty. Our investigations show that he has
dated a certain Vincent Fiberesima and Uche Emmanuel. We cannot fold our hands
and let the law be violated with impunity,” our source at the Anambra state
police command said on grounds of anonymity.
John Emeka, said to be a
practising Christian lost both parents to an accident and in the absence of a
sibling found love in men.
He was last seen on Thursday,
September 14, 2017 at a local church. But before police could get to the
location, he is said to have disappeared following an apparent tip off.
A January
2014 law in Nigeria, signed by the president, made it illegal for gay people to
even hold a meeting. The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act also criminalizes
homosexual clubs, associations and organizations, with penalties of up to 14
years in jail. Nigeria has an influential Christian evangelical movement in
the south and strong support for Islamic law in the north, both of which oppose
homosexuality.
The act has
since drawn international condemnation from countries such as the United States
and Britain.
Some Nigerian
gays already have fled the country because of intolerance of their sexual
persuasion, and more are considering leaving, if the new law is not repealed,
human rights activist Olumide Makanjuola said recently
Since Nigeria passed a law
criminalising same sex marriage and gay organisations in 2013, law enforcement
agents have cracked down on people suspected of homosexuality. However, arrests
are infrequent as homosexual people live in hiding.
Gay people live in fear and
cannot openly express their sexual orientation. They are not protected by any
law so they face discrimination.
Northern states under Sharia
- Islamic religious law - have the death penalty for people convicted of
same-sex offences which in other states carry a 14-year jail term.
Same-sex relations are
explicitly banned in 72 countries, according to the International Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).
The number of states that
criminalise same-sex relations is decreasing annually, though, with Belize and
the Seychelles repealing such laws last year.
Nigeria is one of a small
number of countries which has gone against a global trend.
The country has had a ban on
gay relationships since 1901, and in 2013 also outlawed same-sex marriages, gay
groups and shows of same-sex public affection.
The police has however
maintained its haunt for John Emeka and his accomplices.
