This report is a compendium of reported violations of sexual minorities in Nigeria between April 2017 to March 2018, with particular focus on Men who have sex with men (MSM). The data used in this report is drawn from inputs made into the online rights violation documentation tool developed by Lawyers Alert (http://colahr.org/lawyersalert/index.php ). This tool is situated on the website of the Coalition of Lawyers for Human Rights (COLaHR), a critical partner to Lawyers Alert in our free legal assistance project.

The findings in this report cuts across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. It is instructive to note that 95% of reported violations/cases were resolved at police stations, with less than 5% going to trial, and even at that, prosecution is not diligent. This appears to validate the often held claim that arrests are basically to harass, intimidate and extort victims with no will for proper prosecution. The documented violations were verified, legal assistance proffered and to this extent, these violations are accurate and authentic.

This report builds on our earlier report1 that grouped sexual minorities into one group. With support from the Rapid Response Fund, Lawyers Alert customised the online tool to specifically speak to MSM, as against other key populations and other varying sexual orientations. As is the practice, there was within the project location, legal literacy and empowerment for inputs into the tool.

The online tool automatically analyses data along age, location, types, trends etc. Interventions for MSM actions and possible law reforms cannot be better informed than when situated against the data evidenced in this report. With Nigeria committed to ending HIV, especially against the background of dwindling external funding, such data are very critical for targeted interventions given limited resources. Read the full report