Last year, Abuja Area Mama had expressed fears for her life
August 10, 2024
Abuja: Nigerian police are investigating the death of a Nigerian transgender TikToker known as “Abuja Area Mama”.
“Abuja Area Mama,” a Nigerian self-described crossdresser and sex worker who documented her life on social media, was found dead by the side of a highway near her home in Abuja this week. She was 33 years old.
“Mama” kept her full identity a secret online, but sometimes referred to herself as Ifeanyi in her videos — as we will throughout this article — and asked that others use she/her pronouns to describe her. Some have also referred to her as “Chantelle.” Her bio on TikTok, where she regularly uploaded videos about her work and personal life, described her as “the number one Abuja cross-dresser and queen of the street.”
The Initiative for Equal Rights
@TIERsNigeria
We mourn the tragic death of Chantelle, the beloved Area Mama of Abuja. We demand justice and an end to the violence. If anyone has any information about her death that will aid the police in their investigations, reach out to TIERs, your safety will be guaranteed.
Being gay is still illegal in Nigeria (as is “crossdressing,” which was made illegal in 2022), and police violence against LGBTQ+ people is commonplace, leading some queer and transgender Nigerians to flee the country. Others, however, have built online spaces where they can freely express themselves, as Ifeanyi sought to do through her social media pages.
Dr. Michael Omoruyi is a distinguished information technology, generative AI, and media professional with a robust background in academia and media consultancy. He currently serves as the Publishing Director at iNewsAfrica, an online news platform dedicated to delivering eyewitness news from Africa to a global audience.
In addition to his role at iNewsAfrica, Dr. Omoruyi has an extensive academic career, having served as a professor at the College of New Rochelle in New York. His commitment to education is further exemplified by his position as President of the Polytechnic Computer Training Center, where he has been instrumental in advancing computer literacy and education.
