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EndPoliceBrutalityInNigeria

"EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeria."


We are a group of Queer and Trans Nigerians organizing in the US to raise funds for local LGBTQ+ led Nigerian organizations who are active in the #EndSARS movement and have been working for years to support the safety and wellbeing of this community. Join us in investing in young Queer and Trans Nigerians organizing to ensure the safety and wellbeing of Queer and Trans folx who are disproportionally targeted by the Nigerian police, state violence as well as homophobia and transphobia. 


For years, Nigerians have been resisting and fighting against police brutality and extrajudicial killings in our country. In the last 3 weeks, thousands of Nigerians have launched revolutionary protests against police brutality, particularly over the conduct of the since disbanded police unit known as Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) across the country and the world. The #EndSARS Protest has garnered international attention and support because of the resilient and nonviolent approach of young people demanding the abolition of militarized police squads and an end to the bloodshed and bad governance. 


As we have for centuries, Queer and Trans Nigerians, alongside our Nigerian community,  are rising up and taking action to demand the safety, wellbeing, and dignity of our people. Since the protest started, Queer and Trans Nigerians have been putting their bodies on the frontline to call for an end to the police violence while taking care of the housing, food, bail support, and healthcare of our people. 


On October 20, 2020, armed soldiers opened fire on thousands of peaceful protesters at the Lekki Tollgate, Lagos.  According to Amnesty International, over  56 people were killed by the armed forces  with many more injured.  To add to this, given the extremely poor and often non-existent public health care, many of those injured are not able to afford the cost of private healthcare.   


Since the massacre at Lekki Tollgate, the fear for life among millions of Queer and Trans youths in Nigeria has reached an uncharted territory, particularly after homophobic and transphobic people joined forces with the security operatives to repress the anti-SARS protest; we are in solidarity with the Nigerian Queer and Trans community.  Please make a contribution today and help seed organizations amplifying the voices and demands of LGBTQ+ Nigerians in the midst of the EndSARS movement while continuing to organize for their safety and survival. 


These organizations include:

The Initiative of Equal Rights (https://theinitiativeforequalrights.org/)
No Strings NG (https://nostringsng.com/)
Women's Health and Equal Rights (https://whernigeria.org/)
Access to Good Health Initiative (https://www.instagram.com/aghinigeria/)
International Centre for Advocacy on Rights to Health (https://icarh.org/index)
Women Initiative for Sustainable Empowerment and Equality (WISE) (https://wiseorganisation.com/)
Dynamic Initiative for Healthcare & Human Rights (https://dihhr.org)
Community Health Initiative for Youth In Nigeria (https://chiynigeria.org/)


The fund we raise will enable these organizations to:

Provide safe housing 
Address urgent needs e.g. access to food and water
Provide medical support
Provide mental and emotional support
Create community-building programming by and for Queer and Trans Nigerians
Build their community’s leadership and power
Continue centering Nigerian Queer and Trans demands in the #EndSARS movement

#TransNigerianLivesMatter

#QueerNigerianLivesMatter 

#EndPoliceBrutalityinNigeria



READ MORE  


Rather than pursue the mandate of protecting lives and property, officers of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian police charged with the responsibility of fighting crime, took to the streets to harass, extort and kill Nigerian youths. However, the LGBTQI community in Nigeria is the most targeted victim of police brutality. With ingrained homophobia and transphobia, officers of the Nigerian police arrest, abuse and kill LGBTQ+people for reasons of their sexuality, gender identity and physical appearance. Every attempt to make such murderous officers accountable for their crimes has been defeated by the systemic failure of the Nigerian polity.  


The mismanagement of the situation by the Nigerian government reached its worst point on October 20, 2020, when armed soldiers opened fire at protesters at Lekki Tollgate, Lagos, killing many people and leaving more injured. 


Since the massacre at Lekki Tollgate, the country has been in disarray. There is curfew in many states. There are arson and killings going on across the federation. Businesses are closed and people are left without support. The situation in Nigeria is very serious for poor people and more complicated for economically disadvantaged LGBTQ+ people who have for long been murdered and victimized. In solidarity with the Nigerian queer and trans community, we request for your financial support 


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Organizer

Uchechukwu Onwa
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY

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