Crime

LGBTQ: ONE MURDERED, POLICE DECLARE ANOTHER WANTED OVER HOMOSEXUAL ACTS IN ONDO

The Police in Ondo State has declared one Mr. Abimbola Balogun wanted for allegedly involving in homosexual acts, contrary to the same sex marriage/relationship prohibition Act, 2013 of the Federal Government of Nigeria, which was signed into law in 2014.

This declaration is a response to the civil unrests, which led to the death of one Temitope Lucas, who was is alleged to be the partner of the suspect now at large. The incident took place at Olaoluwa Street, around the popular Araromi area of the State Capital on the 10th day of November, 2022.

According to eyewitnesses, trouble started when a local mob, mostly comprised of local vigilante members accused and meted out jungle justice on two young men they accused of being gay. Our reporter gathered from sources who preferred not to be named for obvious reasons that it all started in form of a verbal altercation.

They said the situation deteriorated quickly when members of the group were mobilised to the scene from another location. Another eyewitness said Mr Abimbola Balogun was lucky to have escaped from the scene with minor injuries.

A statement from the police stated that the suspect is wanted by the Police and an undisclosed reward awaits anyone who has any useful information which might lead to his arrest. Meanwhile, investigations by our reporters reveal there are various versions of the story. Some residents say the suspects were caught in the act while some others have a different version.

They say it was a simple argument which degenerated into the crisis. Another source (name witheld) also stated that the the mob descended on the victims on the street and they were not caught in a room or in the act, as contained in the Police report.

He said; “The one who died was previously seen engaging in a heated argument with one vigilante member. I don’t know what the argument was about. But apparently, rumours had been peddled about his sexual orientations before then. Before we knew what was happening, he called other members who soon arrived the scene in a bus. It was from then the situation became uncontrollable’.

“They were armed with all kinds of dangerous weapons. The other guy escaped and that further infuriated the mob. They matcheted him to death. They would have set his body ablaze if not for the timely intervention of the Police”, he said.

However, videos sourced from residents by our correspondents revealed that the two men were fully clothed at a point during the arguments, before the local vigilantes stripped them naked. This debunks the claim that they were caught having sexual intercourse in the first place.

When visited by our reporters in Akure, Mrs Rachael Lucas, the visibly distraught mother of late Temitope lamented the jungle justice melted on her son, saying that no one, irrespective of their crimes deserves to die that way.

“My son is a friendly and responsible person. Let’s even assume he is gay, does Nigerian laws encourage jungle justice now? What happens to fair hearing? How can a group of vigilante boys act as the accusers, jury, judge and executioners in a civil case as this”? She asked amidst sobs.

Meanwhile, efforts to get the families of Abimbola Balogun to respond to the Police declaration has proved abortive. Members of his families neither picks repeated calls or respond to phone messages. A close source said the family members are in shock at the moment and prefers to be given some time to react to the shocking news.

A family friend who prefers to be anonymous because he has not got the permission of the family to speak on the matter whoever told our reporters that they are yet to hear from or ascertain the whereabouts of the wanted suspect.

“At this time, we have exhausted all means to get in touch with our son. No one knows if he is alive or dead. We hope and pray he is alive”, he said.

the Police Spokesperson said investigations are ongoing on the matter and declined to say more.

editor

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