Gay Nigerian Man Facing 'Threat Of Death' Deported From UK

A gay Nigerian man has been deported from the UK despite being under the threat of death if returned to his home country.

Members of equal rights campaign group AllOut.org flooded the Home Office with telephone calls last week in opposition to the decision to deport Olalekan M. Ayelokun to Nigeria, where homosexuality is illegal.

Ayelokun was placed on a chartered flight at 11.20pm on Wednesday 10 October. ‘I feel terrible, traumatised’, he said from Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre last week, ‘I am very afraid they are going to kill me in Nigeria.’

His application for asylum was rejected after a judge ruled that he did not believe that Ayelokun is gay. Friends and lovers – including a member of the British civil service – were unable to convince the judge that the Nigerian lives as an openly gay man.

‘Ola’s case shows that if you are fleeing persecution, you can never be ‘gay enough’ to be granted asylum in the UK,’ said AllOut.org Executive Director and Co-Founder Andre Banks. ‘The judge in this case has actively rejected evidence provided by Ola’s solicitor that proves he is gay and now he is on his way to a country where who he loves could land him in jail – or worse.’

There are increasing reports of LGBT people claiming asylum in the UK on the grounds that homosexuality is criminalised in their home countries. A lack of specific guidelines has led to many judges rejecting their claims.

In 2010, David Cameron said that LGBT people facing imprisonment, torture and death should not be sent home. ‘If you have a legitimate fear of persecution, then it seems to me that is a perfectly legitimate reason to stay,’ he said.

LGBT people in Nigeria can face up to 14 years in prison for ‘gay acts’

..........SOSO GAY