Nigerian youth commits suicide after being blackmailed by homophobes
A Lagos-based Nigerian youth is said to have committed suicide after he was blackmailed by homophobes.
By Mike Daemon
Olamilekan
Even though sexual orientation is not criminalized in Nigeria, LGBTIQ+ people in the country continue to suffer various forms of social ills. Blackmail and extortion make the list of some of the many things that LGBTIQ+ people suffer in the country based on their real or perceived sexual orientation.
The case of a young man simply identified as Olamilekan who is said to have committed suicide after being blackmailed is one of many sad but familiar stories.
Friends of the deceased shared his photograph on social media with information stating that the young man had resorted to taking his own life after he couldn’t deal with the trauma of being outed.
They also shared that he drank Sniper, a very dangerous and poisonous chemical substance originally meant for the farm, but which has over time been wrongly domesticated by most Nigerians for use as a household insecticide and rodent-killer.
Olamilekan is said to have died in Lagos where he lived on Thursday this week after taking the poisonous substance.
As at the time of writing this report, not much is known about the young man, thus why there’s very little information to share.
However, we sympathize with the family and friends of the deceased whom we believe must be going through a very difficult time, and wish that they find the strength to deal with the death of the young man.
Sadly, various researches have shown that LGBTIQ+ persons especially young folks are more likely to commit suicide than their peers.
We understand that many people are unable to handle and deal with thoughts of suicide and navigating life as a queer person living in a homophobic clime such as Nigeria, which is why we developed the Qtalk app; a counseling and social app for queer Nigerians through which they can access legal and psychosocial support when needed.
To download the app, click HERE.
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Sadlly, a deeply homophopbic and ill-informed Nigerian society high-fives the suicide of LGBT+ youth every time there’s a death like this, and this oftentimes include the parents and families. The fact that Nigerians drive kids to take their own lives and then celebrate afterwards is a stain on the reputation of that country. A complete overhaul of anti-LGBT+ religious teaching is long overdue, since there is nothing in the original words of Jesus or Mohammed to justify hatred of anyone because they’re different, nor is there any direct command for LGBT+ people to marry someone they have no sexual, emotional or romantic feelings for. The rest is just made-up hokum.
Are u happy now
Its such a pity that Nigerians are so myopic on he note of sexual orientation. He’s gay so what?
Everyone has the right to love and be loved so please stop making our community members feel hated to the extent of taking their lives. This isn’t the face case I’ve witnessed