A trans woman and lead soprano singer in St. John’s Catholic Church, Rumuolumeni in Iwofe area of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, Miss Emmanuella Adaolisa Ogbuegbunam, had kept her original identity secret from church authorities until her death in January, 2023.
Her true identity was allegedly busted by a mortuary attendant who examined her corpse at the Military Hospital in Port Harcourt. Miss Adaolisa had died from an accident after returning from a 21-day fasting and prayer program in her church and her corpse was deposited at the morgue with her identity filled as a woman. The mortuary staff alerted her church members, who deposited her corpse, after examining her remains and found she had male genitalia instead of the female sex organ. She was found wearing four male underwear and fake boobs to disguise her looks.
Late Adaolisa studied Pharmacy at the University Port Harcourt (Uniport) and started worshiping with St John’s Catholic church from October, 2022. He would soon join the choir singing as one of the lead sopranos in the church.
She was said to have later introduced his fiancé to the church authorities. Church members who spoke to REPORT AFRIQUE anonymously said late Adaolisa always flaunted her engagement ring and wore heavy makeup.
Emmanuella Adaolisa Identified Openly as Trans Woman on Social Media
Although church members say late Adaolisa hid her real identity until after her death, her Facebook profile details say differently. She openly identified as a trans woman on her bio on Facebook.
The Nigerian Anti Gay Law
Nigeria is a homophobic country with strict religious rules and cultures. LGBT persons are not openly accepted in the Nigerian society. Some gay people have been openly attacked, and some even got killed.
In 2014, Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan signed a bill that criminalizes same-sex relationships, defying western pressure over gay rights and provoking US criticism.
The bill, which contained penalties of up to 14 years in prison and bans gay marriage, same-sex “amorous relationships” and membership of gay rights groups, set a new life standard for the Nigerian LGBT community since then.
Some Famous LGBT Celebrities in Nigeria
Despite these challenges, some members of the LGBT community have managed to earn fame in the country. They have also managed to provide themselves some sort of protection from the homophobic public that now translates into some sort of acceptance among their growing audience, especially on the social media.
Amongst these LGBT celebrities are Bobrisky and James Brown (stage names).
