Police in the Nigerian capital Abuja are investigating the killing of a trans TikToker known as Abuja Area Mama after her body was found beside a highway.
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.”
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.
