Hunted: Kidnapped, blackmailed and tortured for being LGBTQ+

24 Jun 2026 • 10:10 PM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

Hunted: Kidnapped, blackmailed and tortured for being LGBTQ+

This is the world of “kito” attacks in Nigeria: where members of the LGBTQ+ community are catfished online, kidnapped, tortured and extorted by gangs in a rising surge in violence and hatred.

Now, amid unprecedented aid cuts, the survivors of these attacks who are also living with HIV must contend with the collapse of the very clinics and shelters that once helped them.

Chief international correspondent Bel Trew travels to Nigeria, where the most vulnerable are fighting for their lives.

This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project

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