To Our Esteemed Supporters and the General Public,

With a heavy heart, we write to inform you of an urgent and distressing situation currently unfolding in Nigeria. Members of the LGBTQI+ communities, individuals, organizations, and activists are currently being attacked, outed, hunted, and threatened with violence.

However, this is not an isolated incident. Earlier this year, we received a letter from the Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria (CAC), the body responsible for registering and regulating charity activities in Nigeria, stating that there have been calls for our charity to be deregistered in Nigeria for catering to the needs of LGBTQI+ people. While this case is ongoing, it has caused a huge disruption in our activities in Nigeria and put us in a precarious situation as the outcome, if not positive, will be drastic for the work we do. Also, this has cost us a lot of expenses in terms of legal fees, money we should be using to support LGBTQI+ individuals in Nigeria.

This recent surge in attacks can be attributed to the misinformation in the Nigerian press about the Nigerian government signing the SAMOA agreement, which includes a call for equality for all. This development has unfortunately provoked a backlash from certain factions of religious groups across Nigeria, further endangering the lives of LGBTQ+ persons, especially in the north.

As a result, the Bisi Alimi Foundation has taken the necessary steps to remove media content featuring our scholars and staff from our website and across social media to ensure their safety. We are working with other organizations to ensure the safety of our past and current scholars and staff in hot zones and advise those who can find safe spaces to do so in these trying times.

We remain steadfast and committed to advocating for the rights, safety, and dignity of the LGBTQ+ community. However, we cannot do this alone. We call on all our supporters, allies, and the international community to stand with us in this critical time, and to:

• Condemn the targeting and harassment of LGBTQ+ Nigerians.
• Call on the Nigerian government to condemn the attack on Nigerian citizens and protect vulnerable citizens no matter their sexuality.
• Increase support for Nigerian LGBTQ+ organizations working to create a safer and more inclusive society.

We are at this moment, working in solidarity with other organizations to come up with concrete plans to address these attacks and violence.

Thank you for your continued support and solidarity,

The Bisi Alimi Foundation