In Nigeria, same sex relationships are illegal. It has been so since the British Empire, which imposed the crime of “sodomy” to a people who, until then, were not inherently against homosexuality. Nonetheless, the situation deteriorated in 2014, when a new law against gay marriages lead to a multiplication of detentions and hate crimes. Under the new laws, gangs of thugs have been authorized to hunt homosexuals down and beat them, rob them, blackmail them, and in the worst cases, even kill them. Those who are brought to jail have to undergo bashing and rapes in the cells, only to be socially dead once out of the prison. Here are some of the latest stories from the press. Blackmail and bashing Last August, an alleged homosexual 17 year old boy was bludgeoned to death by some of his classmates, in the state of Jigawa, in the Muslim northern area of Nigeria. According to the killers, they were trying to “re-educate him” and stop his perversion. In September, a lesbian woman barely made it out alive after she was assaulted by 4 men, sent by her ex-husband, who had already clubbed her once and wanted to burn her alive. Her ex-husband had already got her arrested once, and threatened to throw acid at her. Luckily for her, she managed to flee abroad, where she asked for asylum. Collins Gideon is a boy from Nigeria. He is a fervent Christian and was publicly exposed against his will. His nude photos, showing him with a boy, circulated on the social networks, blogs and more or less reliable information sites. Gideon explains what happened to No Strings Nigeria: a good friend of his invited him to his house. There, a group of boys came in and assaulted him, ripped off his clothes, took some pictures and threatened to publish them if he had not paid a ransom. Collins had not enough money at the time and the photos went viral. His family kicked him out and disowned him, forcing him to leave university and move to another city, where he currently survives thanks to his friend’s hospitality. Life after prison ABC News contacted some of the victims of a police raid in a Lagos hotel that took place last July. 40 alleged gay men and boys, some of them minors, were rounded up and arrested for engaging in gay activities. The reality was that they were gathered to conduct HIV-tests provided by Access to Health and Rights Development Initiative [BBC]. Among those arrested, some were able to bribe their way out of the prison; the others got a provisional release pending trial. [read also: Chinonso Kept Quiet About His Homosexuality: Here’s Why] Femi* is 23. After spending a month in prison, he was kicked out of his home, forced to leave university and lost his job. Life has never been easy for him: at 14, he was raped by a man. His dad has always treated him badly and despised his feminine manners. After leaving the prison, Femi was forced into prostitution to survive. He would sleep over at some of his clients’ places, or on his friend’s couch. He saved some money for his future: a one-way ticket to get out of his country. Faint hopes Tunde*, who is even younger, was arrested on the same cursed day. His photo, name and information about his homosexuality, as well as his HIV-positive status, were shared on local and national media. His grandmother found out about him as she read the newspapers. He was then kicked out of home and lost his job. He now lives on the streets awaiting trial. On the positive side, he is out of prison, where he was beaten up by his cellmate, instigated by the prison guards. Doyin*, 15, is one of the youngest victims of the blitz that occurred in Lagos. He is also one of the luckiest: not only did he spend just 7 days in prison, but he can also count on his family, who supports him. He genuinely speaks about this: “My parents know that I am gay: this is how I am, this is what I chose to be and they tell me that I have the right to live my life. A gay person is a human being and God made me this way.

Sunday Morning. I lay curled on the floor of my room, wide-eyed in a pool of dried tears and desperate prayers. Last night should have been Niya’s last, and mine as well, judging from the bottle of nameless medication clutched loosely in my hand, but God had other ideas for us, apparently. It was only another hour before the hospital opened to visitors, I knew I should get up and dress myself before leaving, but… Instead I kept my childlike pose for a little longer while the sun rose above the sill of the eastern window, flashing briefly in the mirror, and let the memories comfort me, talk me down from oblivion into something akin to hope.

When we were growing up there were few (if any) gay love stories around for us to be exposed to, whether in real life, on TV, or anywhere else in the media. We would have absolutely loved to have been able to learn that gay love stories do exist and that gay relationships could be real, true and loving. That’s why in this blog post we wanted to share some real-life gay love stories from some of our followers on Instagram in the hope that we can spread the message that love really is for all.

Teenage M/M Gay Romance Typical teen, Jake Summers, is shy about being gay and tries to maintain a low profile to his obsessive bullies. When a recent transfer student gets Jake's heart racing for some passionate action, he considers letting his guard down to fulfill his deepest fantasies... A self-described "floater", to Jake Summers things are best if he isn't noticed at all. Jake is an average high-school swimmer sometimes caught up in typical high-school drama. When rumors started to spread that Jake is gay, he begins taking obsessive care to maintain a lower profile - even if the rumors are true. Jake's high-school in Buffalo gives an unfortunate edge to the wealthy and athletic. He is constantly working hard to avoid attention and catch a break from his popular bullies while hiding his urges. When a new stud shows up in his class, Jake's mind wanders towards the erotic. Owen Holt, a hot and handsome Minnesotan transfer student, catches Jake off-guard with his sexy, chiseled looks and dominating charm; However, Jake becomes agitated when the born-athlete fits into a different crowd. After a thorough thrashing from some bullish high-school tyrants, Jake gets some tough love from Owen sparking an intensely physical relationship. He begins to realize a strong and sexy guy like Owen might be just what the doctor ordered... Exclusive Excerpt from He and Him So I said the words for the first time, "Yeah I'm gay." A genuine, encouraging smile broke across his face, then replaced sheer lust that shocked me down to my balls. "Thank fuck," he breathed as his came up and framed my jaw before his lips touched mine. For moment, the pressure was measured, soft as if he expected me to back away, silly man. I leaned into the kiss, and he took it from there. His lips were hot brands against mine, his tongue swiped lightly across my bottom lip and I gasped. He took full advantage and his tongue drove in tasting, exciting. One of my hands reached up and fisted itself in his silken hair and the other came behind his neck pulling our bodies flush. Our tongues wrested and slid together as our bodies met. His hands abandoned my jaw to slide down my back over my ass. I arched into his touch and his lips left mine, he left open mouthed kisses down my throat as I tilted my head back reveling in his hands kneading my ass through the silky texture of my running shorts. My hand left his neck and trailed its way down his chest memorizing the hard planes. I wished the cotton of his t-shirt was gone as I found a nipple. With a low groan as my fingers circled the nub his mouth reclaimed my attention as his lips recaptured mine. I was lost in him, his smell covering me, all spice and man. With a weak chuckle he lifted his lips from mine and took a small step back creating a gap, "Did I tell you I was a big fan of your uniform?" I was breathing hard from his kiss. My cheeks flamed, my cock jutting out from my hips made even more obvious by the tight shiny fabric. I gazed down at his crotch, though less distinct through the dark denim I could see he was also excited, "Yeah, I can see you're a big, big fan." With a low groan he gave me a brief but scorching kiss, "You really don't want to talk about my cock right now Jake. We're at school but that won't stop me from fucking you." Lust warred with humor in his eyes. Peeking a sultry look through my eyelashes, "I don't want to talk about your cock. There are so many better things to do with it." He let out a strangled laugh but took a step back. I mourned the separation, "You're trouble.

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