A Nigerian gay rights activist, Aderonke Apata, who was denied asylum by the UK home office for over 13 years and told by a judge that she was faking her sexuality has finally won her battle.
She started a campaign by means of online networking for the UK government to concede to her asylum demands as she dreaded being prosecuted and even killed in Nigeria in the event that she ever gets repatriated to Nigeria.
She was denied asylum in 2015 after the presiding judge said her appearance did not depict that of a lesbian woman. Indeed, even after she shared photographs of her Nigerian lesbian partner, Happiness Agboro, the UK Home office still said they don’t trust her claim.
Aderonke expressed delight after her application for asylum was finally granted today. Speaking to The Independent, she said
“I overwhelmed with gladness but remain angry knowing that there are other LGBTI people seeking asylum facing the same fear of deportation that I had just overcome. I was just crying on the phone with my solicitor when he broke the news to me. I must have embarrassed him. I wasn’t assimilating all of the information he was giving to me on the phone as I was crying and singing.”
She expressed anger at the Home office in the UK for accusing her of lying about her sexuality.
“Despite the gains in acceptance of LGBTI people in the UK, LGBTI people seeking asylum in the UK’s situation remains precarious and appears not to fit into the wider LGBTI community. The Home Office needs to catch up with the rest of the UK, drop its vile ‘proof of sexuality’ policy and move on from 1967. All LGBTI people seeking asylum in the UK want, like anyone else, is to be treated with fairness, dignity, and humanity. Having been forced to flee by hate and intolerance at home, being branded a liar by the Home Office is demeaning and cruel for LGBTI people seeking asylum. I hope the Home Office will look back, reflect on my case and treat everyone with the decency and respect they deserve.”
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