Enugu Community beats a man to death for having sexual relationship with a fellow man

John Udeh, Enugu

In a frenzy of rage, members of Akegbe Ugwu community in Enugu State, have beaten a young man identified as Chukwu Michael Ekenedilichukwu to death over his alleged homosexual relationship with another man known as Nwobodo Ikenna James.

From our findings, the deceased Chukwu Michael Ekenedilichukwu is from Ndeaboh community in Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State while his male sex partner Nwobodo Ikenna James is from Akegbe Ugwu community in Nkanu West Local Government Area which is also in Enugu State.

According to our source, luck ran out of the two male sexual partners on the 15th day of March 2024, when Nwobodo Chidimma Perpetual, the wife of Nwobodo Ikenna James, returned back from Abia State where she travelled to for the burial of one of his uncles daughter and upon her unannounced return, she found the door to their room open and when she entered, she found her husband and his male partner naked while her husband was having anal sex with his male lover.

It was gathered that out of rage, the wife of Nwobodo Ikenna raised alarm that attracted the attention of the people living within the neighbourhood as she started shouting abomination, abomination with all the strengths she could gather.

It was also gathered that while Chidimma the wife of Nwobodo Ikenna James was explaining what she saw her husband and the other male lover doing in their house, her husband Nwobodo Ikenna James was quick and lucky to jump out through the window of their house knowing what would happen if he was caught by the already raging and surging crowd because he had been previously accused of such act and he denied it and now that he was caught by his wife right in the act, he understood the weight of the punishment attached to the act of homosexuality which is considered an abomination in his Akegbe Ugwu community like in many communities in the Eastern part of Nigeria and indeed many communities in Nigeria generally.

Unfortunately, his male lover Chukwu Michael Ekenedilichukwu was not as lucky as Nwobodo Ikenna James as he was caught by the angry villagers who saw their act of homosexuality as a desecration of their land. Ekene was beaten with a boiling rage by the angry villagers such that before he could access any reasonable help, he had been beaten to stupor and consequently died that same afternoon.

The youth leader of the community, Mr. Christian Ugwu, who confirmed the ugly incident to journalists, said that although sexual relationship among people of the same sex is considered an abomination in his community, he saw the gruesome killing of the young man as unreasonable, because according to him, the law of the land also forbids and prohibits same sex relationship and also prescribes serious punishment against offenders. While condemning the extrajudicial killing of the male sex partner of Nwobodo Ikenna James, he said the young man could have been handed over to the police for prosecution and if found guilty, who would be sent to jail to face the consequences of his abominable immoral act.

Others sources who chose to remain anonymous disclosed that the community has resolved that since Nwobodo Ikenna James has desecrated their land by having sexual intercourse with his fellow man, he must be fished out by all means to pay with his life for his “atrocious acts.” It was also gathered that Nwobodo Ikenna James had been previously accused of having sexual affairs with a fellow man, but he vehemently denied it haven known the implication of indulging in such abominable act, and that since that accusation was made against Nwobodo Ikenna James, the community have placed him under their watchlist to enable them substantiate the merit in the accusation and now that he has been caught by his own wife, he may not live to tell the story and as it stand presently, both the police and members of Akegbe Ugwu community have declared him wanted for his abnormal sexual life. “So, we have decided to mount surveillance on him knowing that if the accusation is true, he must be exposed someday and that day has finally come and he must face the surugede music”, one of our sources said.

According to another source who also preferred to remain anonymous, “What he committed is an abomination and no matter how long he runs, we will get him to sanitize the land he desecrated, there is no mercy”.

Meanwhile, Chief Afamefuna Ogbodo who is the President General of Akegbe Ugwu Community Town Union, told journalists that the punishment for the crime of homosexuality in his community is banishment in addition to handing the perpetrator over to the relevant authority for prosecution and ensuring that the person is convicted and sent to jail.

When contacted, Nwobodo Chidimma Perpetual appears to be regretting that she raised the alarm which has now resulted in the banishment of her husband as she stated amidst sob, that since the incident, she has not heard from her husband and that all the efforts she made to reach him did not yield any positive fruit and that since then, she is suffering with their only child. It is gathered also that since the incident, Nwobodo Ikenna James has escaped for his life and may never take the risk of being seen anywhere by the police or the members of his community for fear of being killed or dumped in jail.