Since the passage and legislation of anti-gay law has come to play in Nigeria, some communities have been subjected to increasing violence and persecution, in addition to the legal implication of being involved in gay relationship.
To this end therefore, the Odogbe community in Ijebu North East local government area of Ogun state has threatened a showdown with some people suspected to be involved in gay relationship.
According to a community leader in the area, Pa Jamiu Adekunle who spoke exclusively to Ijebu News Xtra magazine on the raging issue, the suspects if later found guilty as alleged will be stripped naked, beaten mercilessly and paraded on the streets to serve as a deterrent to others at large.
The 76year old man narrated that while two of the suspects are workers at a farm known as Impeccable Farms, a subsidiary of Impeccable Business Solutions, two others are associates who are always seen in the company of the workers. The visibly aggrieved man gave the names of the suspect as Emmanuel Mathias, Balogun Adekunle, Popoola Iliasu and Talabi Sunday.
The community alleged further that the owner of the farm where the suspects work, one Mr Femi Olokodana has been shielding the suspect from prosecution as all entreaties from the community to send them away from the land have been met with a deaf ear.
Pa Adekunle argued that at a point in time, the community met with Mr Olokodana to report the consensual but illegal sexual act of his workers and their associates. But in his reactions, Olokodana rather than condemn the immoral sexual activities of his workers lambasted and called the community leaders unprintable names for dare calling for the head of the workers.
The community leaders said their preliminary investigation into the activities of Olokodana and his workers revealed that they are all into gay relationship, but that Olokodana was only using his present marital status as face-saving.
The Odogbe community maintained that gay relationship not only remains a taboo in the land but it is also against the constitutional provision of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He reported that rather than lynch the suspects, the community has reported the illegal sexual act to the nearest police station in the area.
When contacted, a Senior Police officer in the area, CSP Jacob Ikechukwu confirmed the receipt of complain from the community, stressing further that all parties to the dispute have been invited for further investigation.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act into law during his administration, which established an up-to-14-year prison sentence for those participating in gay marriages and a five-year penalty for those who enable such ceremonies.
