Nigerian police investigate killing of trans TikToker Abuja Area Mama
On TikTok, where she identified as female and openly described herself as a sex worker, Abuja Area Mama styled herself as a “cross-dresser and queen of the street.”
A police spokesperson in the city, Josephine Adeh, said in a statement that “an unidentified lady was seen lying motionless along Katampe - Mabushi expressway” on Thursday and “preliminary investigations revealed that the individual was a man fully dressed in female clothing with no means of identification on him.”
Adeh added that police were investigating the killing, which she said was a culpable homicide. CNN has contacted the police for more information.
Same-sex relations are banned in Nigeria and gay and trans people often face harrasment.
Abuja Area Mama had previously faced attacks and harassment. In a recent video on social media, she described being stabbed by an unidentified man.
A day before her body was found, she made a post on Instagram saying she was “getting ready to go and see my boyfriend.”
Abuja Area Mama was candid about the risks of being a sex worker.
“You could leave home at night to hustle and not return the next morning,” she said while featuring as a guest on a YouTube podcast four months ago.
Despite being a prominent figure on TikTok and a YouTube podcast, Abuja Area Mama's work as a sex worker and cross-dresser led to her being misunderstood by parts of the world, including some in Africa. Regardless of the challenges she faced, her influence stretched beyond the African continent, resonating with people worldwide.
