A couple has raised the alarm over persistent threats to their lives allegedly triggered by the husband’s refusal to rekindle a past homosexual relationship.
Edu Nnamchi, who is seeking asylum in Canada, and his wife, Uche Nnamchi, alleged that the threats began after Nnamchi ended a same-sex relationship with one Obiora Ezeokeke and opted to marry a woman.
Nnamchi recounted The Nation a series of events that have left the family living in fear and turmoil.
According to her, trouble started when her husband disclosed his intention to end his relationship with Ezeokeke and proceed with plans to marry her.
She claimed that Ezeokeke reacted with hostility and began to blackmail and threaten the family.
“Obiora could not come to terms with the end of their affair. He warned my husband to call off our marriage plans and return to him, but my husband refused,” she said.
She alleged that in January 2013, the family’s dog was found dead with a threatening note placed beside Nnamchi’s vehicle.
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“There was a note on the car that read: ‘This is a snippet of what I will do to you and your family for leaving me,’” Nnamchi recounted.
She also said an anonymous caller later threatened to expose photographs of Nnamchi’s past intimate relationships with other men, and that the caller reported the matter to the Nigerian Police. As a result, her husband was declared wanted.
“The threats became unbearable. In October 2023, my husband left Nigeria to stay with his sister in Canada and returned five months later. But due to ongoing fears and the pressure from law enforcement, he had to leave again in June 2024, this time with the aim of seeking asylum,” she said.
Nnamchi further alleged that last December, a team of armed police officers stormed their residence, physically assaulted her, and demanded to know her husband’s whereabouts.
“They turned the entire house upside down while my children screamed in fear. It was terrifying. Some neighbours came to our rescue and confirmed that my husband had long left the country,” she said.
The Nnamchi family insists they have been subjected to continuous harassment and degrading treatment due to the prevailing legal and societal rejection of non-heterosexual relationships in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s legal stance on homosexuality, particularly Section 217 of the Criminal Code Act and Section 5(1) of the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, criminalises same-sex relationships and related associations, leaving individuals in such circumstances vulnerable to abuse and blackmail.