In a shocking and disturbing incident, an LGBTQ+ activist was brutally attacked and left severely injured in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The attack, which took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning, has sparked outrage among human rights organizations and the LGBTQ+ community, who are calling for justice and greater protection for vulnerable individuals.

The victim, identified as Mojeed Adeboyejo Olakunle, a 44-year-old outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, was assaulted near his residence in Abeokuta in May 2023 by a group of unidentified assailants, who suspected him of being bisexual.

According to witnesses, the attackers ambushed Olakunle, beat him mercilessly, and left him unconscious on the street. Passersby later found him and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he received treatment for multiple injuries, including broken ribs.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Olakunle recounted the horrifying ordeal. “I was walking home when a group of men approached me. They started shouting homophobic slurs and accusing me of spreading ‘immorality.’ Before I could react, they began hitting me with sticks and kicking me. I thought I was going to die,” he said, his voice trembling.

Olakunle noted that it wasn’t the first time he had been attacked. According to him, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on December 26, 2022 during the Xmas festivities when gunshots were fired into his car as he was leaving the scene of a party with some of his friends.

The 44-year-old, who hails from Saadatu Ammadiya in the Adigbe area of Abeokuta, added that he’s been receiving threats through phone calls and his family members are afraid to venture out for fear of being harassed.

Nigeria criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men and between women. The gender expression of trans people is also criminalised. Since signing the anti-gay law in 2014, people believed to be of the LGBTQ community have been arrested and paraded by security operatives.