Ghanaian Filmmaker Abducted By Suspected Anti-LGBTQ Gunmen Found Alive On Nigerian Seashore

In a tale that borders on the mysterious, a Ghanaian filmmaker, Saint Ezekiel Kwadwo Kumasah, who was reportedly abducted last year in Ghana, has been found alive on a seashore in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Kumasah, a middle-aged man and Chief Executive Officer of Saint Ezekiel Films, was said to have been kidnapped on October 10, 2024, in Keta, Volta Region, while travelling to make arrangements for his late mother’s funeral.

According to information made available to journalists, his abductors were suspected anti-LGBTQ gunmen who targeted him over his alleged involvement in promoting LGBTQ rights in Ghana. He was reportedly tortured, interrogated, and forced to release funds from his account with Ghana Commercial Bank before the kidnappers attempted to strangle him. Believing him dead, they allegedly dumped his unconscious body by a seashore in Ibadan.

In what many now describe as sheer providence, a local fisherman discovered his body and raised alarm, leading to his rescue by nearby security operatives. He was subsequently handed over to the Nigeria Police on November 3, 2024.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) said investigations were underway to unravel how the victim, abducted in Ghana, ended up in Nigeria.

“The victim confirmed under interrogation that he was kidnapped in Ghana. How he ended up on Nigerian soil remains a mystery,” the police spokesman stated.

Speaking in a telephone interview with our reporter from London on August 21, 2025, Kumasah recounted the last moments before his abduction:

“What I remember was travelling for my mother’s funeral arrangements in Keta District, Volta Region, on October 10, 2024. That was the last thing I could recall before regaining consciousness in Nigeria.”

Kumasah, who has been vocal in LGBTQ advocacy, had previously faced arrest in Ghana in May 2021, when police detained 21 LGBTQ activists in Ho, Volta Region. That same year, Ghana’s parliament introduced a bill seeking to criminalize LGBTQ and intersex identity and allyship, drawing global condemnation, including criticism from the U.S. State Department.

The chilling ordeal highlights the rising dangers faced by LGBTQ advocates in Ghana, where same-sex relations remain criminalized and rights activism is under intense scrutiny.

— Kunle Bakare