Effeminate male chef shares encounter with Lagos louts who attacked him for “walking like a woman”

An effeminate Nigerian chef, Havilah Bekee, recently shared an incident in Lagos State where he successfully defended himself against two assailants.

According to Bekee, on Saturday, June 21, he was out with his sister and a staff member delivering food when the two men began verbally harassing him, mocking him for “walking like a woman.” He said he chose to ignore their taunts, but this only escalated their aggression. They threatened him, asking if he wanted to be assaulted.

As they approached him, one of them broke a bottle and aimed it at him, but fortunately, he missed. Realising the danger, Havilah told his sister and colleague to run away while he confronted the attackers. He began shouting “ole, ole” (which means “thief” in Yoruba), drawing the attention of nearby bystanders who rallied to help him.

While one of the assailants managed to escape, the other was beaten severely by the crowd.

Havilah recounted that he has faced harassment multiple times simply for being his authentic self. He also mentioned that even police officers in Nigeria have harassed him. He emphasised that to exist as a minority in Nigeria, one must be strong physically, spiritually, financially, and verbally.

You can read his full story in the screenshots below.