Aderonke Apata (born 20 January 1967) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

LGBT activist, former

asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and m ...

and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

. She received widespread media attention due to her asylum case in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Apata is the founder of the African Rainbow Family, an LGBT charity.

Biography

Aderonke Apata was born on 20 January 1967 in Nigeria. Apata first became aware that she was

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

at the age of 16. 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 An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of ...

, she was arrested after

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

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 Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

and

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

. However, the sentence was stopped when a person acting as

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

raised a

legal technicality The term legal technicality is a casual or colloquial phrase referring to a technical aspect of law. The phrase is not a term of art in the law; it has no exact meaning, nor does it have a legal definition. It implies that strict adherence to the ...

. Before being taken to court, she was sent to a prison where she was placed in an open jail cell with other inmates. Apata fled Nigeria to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, United Kingdom where she first claimed asylum on religious grounds in 2004 due to her coming from a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

family, but having married a Muslim man in a sham arrangement in an attempt to cover up her long-term relationship with another woman. After her two initial appeals for asylum were rejected, she was forced to live on the streets in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

to avoid

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

. In October 2012, she spent a week in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre as punishment for leading a peaceful demonstration at the centre. During this time, she says she received poor legal advice, so decided to research

immigration law Immigration law refers to the national statutes, regulations, and legal precedents governing immigration into and deportation from a country. Strictly speaking, it is distinct from other matters such as naturalization and citizenship, although ...

herself. 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. 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. In 2014, Apata said that she would send an explicit video of herself to the Home Office to prove her sexuality. This resulted in her asylum bid gaining widespread support, with multiple petitions created in response, which gained hundreds of thousands of signatures combined. Later, she also came close to being deported back to Nigeria, but was told on her drive to the

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

that her flight to Nigeria had been cancelled. On 8 August 2017, after a thirteen year legal battle (during which she partly represented herself in court) 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. 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. In 2018, Apata started her formal legal training with a law conversion course. On 13 October 2022, Apata was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Personal life

In Nigeria, Apata had a girlfriend after graduating and they lived together in an

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

. In 2005, Apata was diagnosed with

Post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

(PTSD) and attempted to commit suicide when she was in prison facing deportation. In 2012, Apata's former female partner was killed in a

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

incident. Apata's brother and three-year-old son were also killed in vigilante incidents. As of 2015, Apata was engaged to Happiness Agboro, who had previously been granted refugee status in the United Kingdom based on her sexuality. As of 2017, Apata resides in the UK.

Awards and honours

* LGBT Positive Role Model Award from the 3rd National Diversity Awards (2014) * Activist of the Year from the 24th

Sexual Freedom Awards The Sexual Freedom Awards is an annual British event that honours achievement in the sexuality and erotica industries worldwide. Founded in 1994 by campaigner Tuppy Owens, the awards were first called the "Erotic Oscars", until the name had to be ...

(2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Apata, Aderonke Nigerian refugees Refugees in the United Kingdom Nigerian LGBT rights activists Nigerian human rights activists 1967 births Living people