A middle aged Man ( Name withheld) has narrated how a Lagos mob nearly killed an innocent pedestrian beside a popular Club in Lagos on Friday August, 21st , 2020
According to the Man who’s a principal witness at the scene of the incident , he disclosed that on his way out of the club around 11: 45 pm in the night. he encountered a mob with different weapons on their hands and realized that they were determined to kill an innocent victim who was helpless
He said ” On the 21st of August 2020, I witnessed a crime scene outside Club Royal in Lagos. It’s something that still weighs heavily on my mind. I was just leaving the club around 11:45 PM. ,I wanted to rush out quickly of the club because of the restriction of movement that was still partially effective due to COVID-19 when I saw a group of men surrounding another young man.
Suddenly, one of them pulled out a knife, and others had sticks and bottles. Things escalated quickly, and it became clear this was no ordinary altercation. The man, whose name I later learned was Kingsley, looked terrified. He was trying his best to defend himself, but they were too many for him”
The Witness further said the attackers had during the encounter mentioned that the victim was identified as a homosexual. He said “. I could hear them shouting hateful things, things like “We’ll wipe you all out of our land! This is Nigeria , we won’t allow this happen here. We will kill all of you Homosexuals and Lesbians ” It was terrifying. I didn’t understand why they were attacking him, but it was clear they were out to hurt him, maybe even kill him.”
Nigeria is one of the countries in Africa that prohibits homosexuality an act that attracts fourteen ( 14) years imprisonment. .There have been cases of where innocent people have been lynched, victimized and brutalised on the suspicious that they were allegedly involved in Lesbians and Homosexuals acts in Nigeria. Human rights groups and lawyers have outrightly condemned the actions and also called on relevant authorities to look at that part of the constitution that guarantees rights to freedom,, association, private and Family life
When asked how the victim was eventually rescued , the Witness said with the help of other passers-by , the young man was rushed to the hospital after sustaining multiple injuries from the attackers
He said ” I couldn’t just stand by and watch. I, along with a few others, ran over to try and stop them. We managed to pull them away from Kingsley, but he was already injured. He was bleeding from the cuts, and it was clear, he needed help immediately. So, we quickly found a car and rushed him to the Lagos State.University Teaching Hospital in Ikeja.
Kingsley was in a lot of pain during the ride, but he was incredibly brave. We stayed with him until the hospital staff took over. From what I witnessed that night, Kingsley did absolutely nothing wrong. He was completely innocent. This was a vicious attack, fueled by hate. Kingsley later reached out to me. He told me that some people had been stalking him for a while before that night, which made the attack even more terrifying. He thanked me for helping him, and it meant a lot to know that I was able to help.”
According to the witness if contacted by security agents, he’s available to provide any further information or answer any questions regarding the horrible incident .
When contacted by our correspondent on the sad incident , image maker of Lagos State Police Command, Ben Hundeyin didn’t reply a text message sent to his phone as at press time .
