What happens when the law itself reinforces prejudice? In this opinion piece, African Liberty writing fellow Okorie Divine argues that Nigeria’s anti-gay legislation has created a climate of fear, abuse and impunity that urgently needs to change.
In April 2026, a group of students at Madonna University, Okija, including the hostel porter, allegedly bullied and brutalised a 100-level student over suspicions of homosexuality, leading to the student’s death. Such violent and homophobic acts are increasingly rampant in right-leaning countries such as Nigeria.
In Nigeria, the violence against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community stems from the criminalisation of same-sex relationships following the enactment of the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) 2014. This Act condemns same-sex unions, public displays of same-sex affection, and membership in LGBTQ-support organisations, prescribing sentences of ten to fourteen years’ imprisonment.
Sadly, the Act has fueled homophobic violence against gay, lesbian, transexual, and effeminate people in Nigeria, exposing them to kidnapping, extortion, and death. The endangerment of the lives of LGBTQ community members calls for a repeal of the Act. Also, Nigeria needs to prosecute the abduction, torture, and killing of LGBTQ people.
Violence Without Accountability
The Madonna student’s death is only one example of what has become a pattern in Nigeria. In October 2025, a deceitful partner lured a young queer man in Port Harcourt through a dating app and threw him off a two-storey building upon arrival.
Earlier in August 2024, unknown persons threatened, beat up, bruised, killed, and dumped a transgender woman, “Area Mama,” on a highway in Abuja. On social media, especially X, effeminate men and LGBTQ people receive death threats and social cancellation from users who deem their sexual orientation unnatural.
This reflects how oppressive and hostile the Nigerian social environment has become for the LGBTQ community. Sadly, the perpetrators of these homophobic acts rarely face prosecution under the law, and the victims of their violence agitate for justice without legal response.
Lessons from Other African Countries
To uphold fundamental human rights for all citizens, Nigeria needs to repeal the SSMPA to protect the LGBTQ community regardless of their varying sexual orientations. Nigeria should follow the example of other African countries like South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.
Recently, Botswana rescinded its same-sex ban, a move that decriminalised LGBTQ persons and guaranteed their legal protection in the country. In 2006, South Africa became the only African country to legalise same-sex marriage, providing a safe destination for LGBTQ people, and in 2020, it passed the Civil Union Amendment Act to prohibit state officials’ refusals to officiate same-sex marriages.
In a landmark ruling in 2024, the Namibian High Court declared the colonial laws that banned same-sex relationships unconstitutional, insisting that such laws perpetuated unfair discrimination against LGBTQ people.
Why Legal Reform Matters
With legal protection and decriminalisation of the LGBTQ community, victims of homophobic violence can seek justice openly with support from concerned organisations. The decriminalisation would prevent indiscriminate loss of lives that pile on the existing insecurity challenges in Nigeria. In decriminalising same-sex relationships, the LGBTQ community in Nigeria would no longer need to hide their identity and stifle the expression of their gender identities as survival tactics.
Most importantly, law enforcement would have to promptly arrest and prosecute perpetrators of homophobic violence for crimes such as killing, kidnapping, and extortion. The government could no longer engage in disposing of LGBTQ people by ignoring illegal detentions, kidnapping, and killing by other citizens who take the law into their own hands.
Prosecuting facilitators and perpetrators of homophobic violence would deter aggressors and empower queer people to seek justice against their perpetrators. It would also reduce the possibility of queer people being hunted even by law enforcement agents in the country.
The Violent Crime Response Unit of the Nigerian Police Force needs to respond to complaints of kidnapping and violence to protect citizens’ lives without discrimination. The Police Complaint Response Unit must also actively escalate reported cases of abuse and violence without bias against queer people.
Building a Safer Future for LGBTQ+ Nigerians
Nigeria has a responsibility to create an inclusive environment for all citizens, regardless of their backgrounds.
Repealing the SSMPA will remove the legal threats that make LGBTQ people hide their identities. Despite social disapproval, they would no longer fear arrest, blackmail, or neglect by the authorities. Legal safeguards against anti-LGBTQ violence will create a safe environment for the LGBTQ community in Nigeria.
Okorie Divine is an African Liberty writing fellow.
