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Aderonke Apata (born 20 January 1967) is a Nigerian LGBT activist, former asylum seeker and barrister.[1] 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]
Aderonke Apata | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 January 1967 (age 57) |
| Occupation | Barrister |
| Known for | LGBT activism, former asylum seeker |
| Awards | LGBT Positive Role Model Award, Activist of the Year from the 24th Sexual Freedom Awards |
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]
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]
- LGBT Positive Role Model Award from the 3rd National Diversity Awards (2014)[13]
- Activist of the Year from the 24th Sexual Freedom Awards (2018)[14]
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