A
man named Sunday Okeke an Indigene of Agbor in Ika South L.G.A of Delta
State, was murdered in a bar along Okobi Street. It was reported that
the deceased was relaxing and having fun at the bar on Sunday, January
17, 2016 with his same sex partner when they were attacked by a group of
six heavily armed young men.
The two same sex
partners where alleged to be involved in homosexuality; a crime
punishable by law and regarded as an abomination both by the religious
sect and traditionalists as a slight on their cultural heritage and
faith.
Our
reporters gathered from a reliable source that the same sex partners
(Sunday Okeke and Monday Odigwe) drew attention and suspicion of the
youths of the community in what was called an abomination. According to
him, “as the suspicion grew, people continued monitoring them until
their suspicion appeared to be true. On several occasions, the two same
sex partners were caught in the act of sexual contact, they were beaten,
tortured. It was recorded that each of these times Mr. Monday and his
partner, Sunday Okeke had denied any wrong doings against the law of the
land and the same sex partners labelled it to be mere suspicion and
jealousy. Due to the alleged violation of the laws that govern the land,
the youths and some members of the community planned to kill them but
fortunately, Mr. Monday was said to have escaped and as it stood, the
youths had vowed to eliminate him once found.
According to some members of the victim’s family, the torture
and killings never stopped despite so many reports made to the
authority. In fact, some of the victim's family members reported that
the police were not helping matters instead they allowed the torture and
killings to continue by handing the victims back to the community for
Judgement. Our reporter secretly interviewed one of the victim’s sister,
Mary Okeke. she explained that some prominent people in high authority,
who are the makers of the laws, including some top police officers were
aiding the onslaught against the victim. Our source gathered that any
form of act like gay or anyone caught in the act of having affairs with
the same sex must be punished according to Nigerian law (Prohibition)
Act, 2013 (SSMPA). Meanwhile, it was recalled in November 2015 that the
Delta State Police Command confirmed the arrest of 21 students from two
state owned polytechnics for allegedly indulging in same sex
activities.
Nevertheless, the incident
involving Mr. Sunday Okeke and Mr. Monday Odigwe had been reported to
the Agbor Police Divisional Headquarters, and according to a statement
issued by the Divisional Police Officer, ASP Akintunde Philip, he stated
that the case was still under investigation.Our source gathered that
several cases of such incidents had been reported to the police in the
past and they eventually handed over the victims back to the community
which result to death penalty according to the law of the land. However,
when interviewed, the Divisional Police Officer denied the allegations.
When further asked by our reporter if some of the top police officers
were aiding the killings of homosexuals; He replied, no further
comment.
In spite of all these
allegations, Mr Akintunde, (Assistant Superintendent of Police) promised
to leave no stone unturned in the search of Mr. Monday Odigwe and bring
to justice the killers of Mr Sunday. But most victims’ family members
and some of the community members who were against the act of torturing
and killing of the same sex partners secretly told our reporter that
they believed Mr. Monday’s case would end up the same way, like other
victims in the past. If found, he would be tortured and killed.
As
at the time of filing this report, the whereabout of Mr. Monday Odigwe
was unknown and the remains of Mr. Okeke had been deposited in the
mortuary.
