Aderonke Apata

Last updated
Aderonke Apata
Born20 January 1967 (1967-01-20) (age 56)
Nigeria
Occupation Barrister
Known for LGBT activism, former asylum seeker

Aderonke Apata (born 20 January 1967) is a Nigerian LGBT activist, former asylum seeker [1] and barrister. She received widespread media attention due to her asylum case in the United Kingdom. [1] [2] Apata is the founder of the African Rainbow Family, an LGBT charity. [3]

Contents

Biography

Aderonke Apata was born on 20 January 1967 in Nigeria. [1] [4] [5] Apata first became aware that she was lesbian at the age of 16. [1] Due to Apata's family suspecting she was a lesbian as well as due to Apata's husband's family suspecting her of being a lesbian and having an affair, she was arrested after police found her engaging in homosexual acts in her apartment and was taken to a sharia court, where Apata was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery and witchcraft. [3] [6] [7] However, the sentence was stopped when a person acting as counsel raised a legal technicality. [7] Before being taken to court, she was sent to a prison where she was placed in an open jail cell with other inmates. [7]

Apata fled Nigeria to London, United Kingdom where she first claimed asylum on religious grounds in 2004 due to her coming from a Christian family, but having married a Muslim man in a sham arrangement in an attempt to cover up her long-term relationship with another woman. [3] [6] After her two initial appeals for asylum were rejected, she was forced to live on the streets in Manchester to avoid deportation. [6] In October 2012, she spent a week in solitary confinement at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre as punishment for leading a peaceful demonstration at the centre. [1] [6] During this time, she says she received poor legal advice, so decided to research immigration law herself. [8]

In 2012, after Apata was caught working as a care manager with a fake visa, she again tried to apply for asylum, fearing returning to Nigeria and being persecuted for her sexuality. [6] This asylum claim and another asylum claim were rejected in 2014 and on 1 April 2015 respectively because the Home Office (HO), a UK ministerial department, did not believe she was a lesbian due to her previously being in a relationship with a man and having children with that man. [6] [7] [9] [10] [11] In 2014, Apata said that she would send an explicit video of herself to the Home Office to prove her sexuality. [6] This resulted in her asylum bid gaining widespread support, with multiple petitions created in response, which gained hundreds of thousands of signatures combined. [9] [10] Later, she also came close to being deported back to Nigeria, but was told on her drive to the airport that her flight to Nigeria had been cancelled. [7]

On 8 August 2017, after a thirteen year legal battle (during which she partly represented herself in court [8] ) and after a new appeal from Apata was scheduled for late July, she was granted refugee status in the United Kingdom by the Home Office. [1] The asylum permit Apata had been given would only last for five years, but she would be able to apply for permanent residence in the UK afterwards. [12]

In 2018, Apata started her formal legal training with a law conversion course. On 13 October 2022, Apata was called to the bar. [8]

Personal life

In Nigeria, Apata had a girlfriend after graduating and they lived together in an apartment. [7]

In 2005, Apata was diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and attempted to commit suicide when she was in prison facing deportation. [10] In 2012, Apata's former female partner was killed in a vigilante incident. [6] Apata's brother and three-year-old son were also killed in vigilante incidents. [6]

As of 2015, Apata was engaged to Happiness Agboro, who had previously been granted refugee status in the United Kingdom based on her sexuality. [10] As of 2017, Apata resides in the UK. [1]

Awards and honours

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Taylor, Diane (August 12, 2017). "Nigerian gay rights activist wins UK asylum claim after 13-year battle". The Guardian . Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Why the Home Office rejects so many LGBTQ asylum claims". City, University of London . September 10, 2019. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Nigerian LGBTQ Activist Granted Asylum in UK After 13-Year Legal Battle". NBC News . August 14, 2017. Archived from the original on October 9, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Aderonke APATA". Companies House . Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  5. ↑ Apata, Aderonke (January 10, 2018). "Birthday girl! Guess her age Double celebrations on 20th Jan at Manchester Victory Party for Aderonke Apata! Book your ticket here". via Twitter . Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Dugan, Emily (June 9, 2014). "Aderonke Apata deportation case: 'If the Home Office doesn't believe I'm gay, I'll send them a video that proves it'". The Independent . Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dunt, Ian (March 3, 2015). "Can you prove you're gay? Last minute legal battle for lesbian fighting deportation to Nigeria". Politics.co.uk . Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Taylor, Diane (22 October 2022). "Barrister says she became legal expert while in Home Office immigration detention". The Guardian . Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  9. 1 2 Ashton, Jack (August 14, 2017). "Nigerian gay rights activist who judge accused of 'faking' her sexuality wins 13-year legal battle for asylum in UK". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Dugan, Emily (April 3, 2015). "Nigerian gay rights activist has her High Court asylum bid rejected - because judge doesn't believe she is lesbian". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  11. ↑ Cohen, Claire (March 4, 2015). "Home Office tells Nigerian asylum seeker: 'You can't be a lesbian, you've got children'". The Telegraph . Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  12. ↑ Hornall, Thomas (August 14, 2017). "Nigerian Lesbian Granted Asylum After 13-Year Battle Against Deportation". HuffPost . Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  13. ↑ "The National Diversity Awards 2014 Winners". National Diversity Awards . September 26, 2014. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  14. ↑ "24th Sexual Freedom Awards Finalists & Winners". Sexual Freedom Awards . 2018. Archived from the original on January 15, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
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