The rising cases of unrest in the Ojodu Berger Community of Lagos State are fast generating great concerns with calls for relevant authorities to take appropriate actions.
Since January 7, 2014, when Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan, signed the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill (SSMPA) into law, there have continually been reported cases of violent attacks by youth groups against individuals suspected to be involved in acts of homosexuality, in parts of the country, in most cases, without proven evidence.
The Ojodu Berger community of Lagos State is one such notorious area where mob attacks intending to impose Islamic-based punishment against suspects have become worrisome.
According to the Federal Government, the notional purpose of the SSMPA was to prohibit marriage between persons of the same sex. But, in reality, the scope of the law is wider. It forbids any cohabitation between same-sex sexual partners and bans any “public show of same sex amorous relationship.”
The SSMPA in Nigeria imposes a 10-year prison sentence on anyone who “registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organizations” or “supports” the activities of such organizations. Punishments are severe, ranging from 10 to 14 years in prison.
Given these stringent provisions, youth groups especially have always taken undue advantage of the laws described by many experts as obnoxious to create public disturbance in communities like the Ojodu Berger area of Lagos.
One of such worrisome incidents occurred in early September 2024 where a large group of unidentified individuals stormed the Ojodu Berger community in Lagos State, causing alarm among residents after accusing a woman of homosexuality with threats to impose Islamic-based punishment against her.
An eyewitness confirmed that the group largely comprising religious fundamentalists, invaded the residence of the elderly woman, Suwebat Rahman, mother of the main suspect – Kafilat Omoniyi Motunrayo Omiyale, and demanded information about her daughter’s whereabouts.
Alhaja Suwebat as she is fondly called, had her daughter specifically accused of committing an abominable act under Islamic law by engaging in a same-sex relationship, with claims that she had fled her matrimonial home to escape consequences.
Although the community was thrown into confusion, the residents swiftly alerted local security officials and the police, while the situation escalated into a heated confrontation despite the invading group’s insistence and citing of Islamic teachings to justify their actions.
“We will have no option but to mete out the punishment on you if you fail to produce your daughter Kafilat Omiyale, or disclose her whereabouts,” they threatened.
In a petition to the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), signed by the Secretary of the Ansar-ud-Deen Society of Nigeria, Alhaji Tajudeen Aderemi, Alhaja Suwebat Rahman’s daughter was declared an apostate.
The petition titled ‘Petition Against Unislamic and Abominable Acts’ accused Kafilat Omiyale of committing lewd acts (Al-Fahsha) with another woman. Citing Quranic verses and Hadith, the petition declared that she had brought shame upon the Muslim Ummah and allegedly contributed to the death of her father from a heart attack upon learning of her behavior.
“In accordance with Sharia law, the prescribed punishment for such an act is death…This society hereby expels her from the Ansar-ud-Deen Society with immediate effect and calls upon all Muslims to dissociate from her until she faces the prescribed punishment,” the document added.
NewsQuest gathered that following the petition, the Police in a letter dated 20th September 2024 invited Kafilat Omiyale for questioning, over alleged violations of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2014 and conduct likely to cause breach of peace..
Kafilat Omiyale according to reports failed to honour the petition invitation interview scheduled for Monday, 23rd September 2024, and has since gone into hiding out of fear for her safety.
When the group invaded the home of Mama Suwebat in Ojodu Berger Community, they made attempts to physically harm or abduct the elderly woman- mother of the alleged suspect but for the swift intervention of community leaders who alerted the police.
The case of Mama Suwebat and her daughter Kafilat Omiyale is just one of the several incidents that have prompted calls from human rights advocates stressing the need for official action to halt extrajudicial mob justice and protect innocent residents from unlawful violence.
On Sunday 30th March 2025, a large group of unidentified individuals again stormed the Ojodu Berger community in Lagos State causing alarm after accusing two brothers of homosexuality.
Our correspondent gathered that this particular incident escalated from an accusation of a same-sex relationship, resulting in a mass evacuation and chaotic scenes that lasted for hours before the police intervention.
The incident, which occurred at a popular lounge in the Ojodu Berger area of Lagos, further sparked public concern over the rise in the citizen-led enforcement of Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act.
The Police arrival followed several arrests, including the brothers and their accuser. Despite their release by the police after interrogation, the family fled their home in the Okota area of Lagos State after their house was attacked and ransacked.
Considering this worrisome trend, the Lagos State government working closely with security agencies appears to be considering charges against perpetrators of mob violence, especially to prevent future mob attacks in the Ojodu Berger, now notoriously known for such illegal acts of violence.
The area once housed a popular underground gay Church known as the ‘House of Rainbow’ operated by one Reverend Rowland Macauley, a Nigerian. He has since been reported to have relocated abroad.
