Woman attacked by husband’s family on allegations of homosexuality

A 42-year-old woman, Mrs lyabo Adesina, has fled her husband’s house over persistent attacks fromher husband’s family members on allegations of engaging in homosexuality.

I was forced to marry my husband, I had whom I loved — Iyabo Adesina

Narrating her ordeal to our correspondents, Adesina, on an hospital admission, confirmed that the last attack unleashed on her — which led to varying degrees of injuries she sustained; followed series of threats she had received from her husband’s family members over what she described as a “disagreement on intimacy”, between her and her husband.

According to her, “The foundation of my marriage has always been shaky. I got entangled with my husband in what we call an ‘arrangee marriage’. I cannot confirm the allegations leveled against me as the law frowns against and there are punitive measures against anyone found culpable.

“However, I have a friend of the same sex who I’ve been so close with, right from childhood. We were so engrossed that we shared a lot of things in common. We went to the same schools; shared the same rooms, even in hostels. After school, we moved to the same city and started a new life. In that process, it didn’t occur to me as much that it was important for me to have a male companion not to even talk of getting married. Same with hers.

“As I was approaching my mid-thirties, my parents arranged a marriage for me between an abroad-returnee and I, who is also a son of a family friend I never liked, even as a child. After marriage, we moved to a different part of the country, where I had to be disengaged from meeting my friends. But I was still reaching out to my friend. I was ensuring that I travel to see her monthly, till my husband raised an issue about it and started reporting me to my family members and his. He gave stern warnings to my friend about our relationship and threatened to divorce me.

“Following his several complaints, his family members started giving me verbal attacks and started threatening to kill me and my two children. They went as far as replicating similar threats to my friend; though she is not married. This they did continuously till May 29, when they came to my home to actualise their past threats. I initially didn’t take them seriously until they beat me to pulp and made efforts to leave with my kids. I sustained injuries and lost consciousness in the process. Thankfully, for some passers-by who came to my rescue.”

 

Reactions from the family

Attempts to reach her husband on telephone at the time of filing this report proved abortive as he was said to be out of town for a business trip.

Investigation is ongoing, she should seek abode elsewhere — Police

Confirming the incident, the Ondo State Police Command in a statement said, “On 14/06/2023 one lyabo Adesina ‘f’, of No. 28, Ifesowonpo Crescent, Irese Akure, came to the station, the Nigeria Police, ‘A Divisional Headquarters, Akure, and reported at the charge-room with a petition in a sworn affidavit at the Customary Court of Ondo State of Nigeria, in the Akure Judicial Division holden at Akure; a case of assault, unlawful seizure, threat to her life and that of two children, against some family members of her yet-to-be officially divorced husband.

“The brief fact of the case is that sometimes in May 2023, precisely on the 29th of May, at about 1900hrs some members of the family of the husband of the complainant stormed the house of the complainant where she resides after an unresolved disagreement between her and the husband leading to her packing out with her two children, this group of people who were looking so dangerous attempted to snatch the two children with force from her. They assaulted the complainant, inflicted injuries on her, took away her belongings and threatened to take her life,else she surrendered herself and everything in her possession to their tradition.

“As soon as the case was reported, capable detectives were detailed and mobilised to arrest, investigate and bring the culprits to book. Frantic efforts already made yet to yield result as the suspects kept avoiding and evading arrest, yet kept threatening the life of the complainant.”

The statement added that “the complainant has been advised to seek for safe abode either from within or outside the shore hence her safety is important and remains sacrosanct, pending the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the suspect”, pending an ongoing investigation.

Similar occurrences in the past

Reuters reports that in February 2014, a mob attacked gay people in a neighborhood in Abuja, the capital of city of Nigeria, dragging young men from their homes, beating them with nail-studded clubs and whips, and shouting that they were “cleansing the community” of gays, and also hinting about episodes of similar mob violence in the Muslim-dominated north of Nigeria.

In April 2019, a lawyer and LGBTQ activist (name withheld) told Cable News Network (CNN) about his experience in the hands of homosexual-mobs.

He said, “But neither the acclaim nor my considerable privilege, as an attorney and son of a politician, could protect me from the four men who brutally ambushed me in my hometown, Akwanga, Nasarawa State, in central Nigeria late last year.

“They accused me of being gay and “spreading a gay agenda,” as they pummeled me; each punch was an assault on who I was. They took my phone, forced me to unlock it, and found further proof of my homosexuality. They poked my anus with sticks in mock penetration.

“The crippling, gut-wrenching pain that followed every punch and every poke felt like my skin was being nailed to a wall. They took pictures of me to memorialize their triumph in my moment of humiliation.”

Nigeria’s position on homosexuality

As much as there are laws condemning threats, and violence of any kind on fellow citizens, most Nigerians are quick to take laws into their hands, thereby engaging in jungle justice, even when a suspect is yet to be confirmed guilty of the charge on them.

In 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law a bill prescribing prison sentences of up to 14 years for gay people.

“Persons who enter into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union commit an offence and are each liable on conviction to a term of 14 years in prison.

“Any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and shall each be liable on conviction to a term of 10 years in prison,” the bill says.