the conversation you have just heard might sound like two friends arranging to meet, but the reality is much more sinister. this is a covert operation on the hunt to catch a criminal.

on one end of the phone a suspected blackmailer. on the other, a civil defence unit committed to catching him. it's his turn here. it says are beheaded. i am a kenyan journalist and i have travelled to nigeria to investigate a form of blackmail that has become so prevalent that it has its own name — kito. all ove nigeria, the queer community have been targeted by blackmailers. they threaten to kidnap, beat, and extort them. in the car ahead is a civil defence unit. armed and ready to apprehend the suspected blackmailer. in the blue shirt, the bait, thinks he's meeting. the team are behind him because if they lose track

of him, it can be very risky, because we might not know exactly where they are going. up ahead, a man, also in a blue t—shirt, starts acting suspiciously and walking away. the unit quickly apprehends him. they check his phone for evidence he is a blackmailer. while interrogating him, the bait receives a message from the blackmailer. the operation has failed. they have arrested the wrong guy. meanwhile, the blackmailer has slipped away into the night and remains at large. all over nigeria, there are countless stories of queer people being blackmailed and exhorted,

sometimes for years. i want to know who is behind these crimes and the pain it is causing. the first time i heard about queer people being blackmailed a friend said one of his colleagues visiting kenya, my home country, was beaten up, and some of his personal belongings taken from him, this is after using grindr. there are a lot of cases in kenya. it doesn't beat the number of cases in nigeria. it is so rampant, that they have a name for it, kito. i've had a website where some of the blackmailers have released

the data to the community. i wanted to know why it is such a big problem here and so i began digging into it. nigeria is known for its conservative and religious values where 87% of people oppose gay rights. in 2014, a law was passed which criminalised same—sex marriage. at a time when most countries in the world take the route of recognising homosexuals, leaders like the nigerian president have chosen to stick to roots and tradition, by going ahead to sign an anti—gay bill into law. nigeria isn't the only country in which there are homosexuality laws. in the african continent alone, 37 countries have homosexuality laws in place. the passing of it saw widespread support and led to a rise in homophobic attacks and even mobjustice across nigeria.

i am very glad. we are africa. we don't want such things in our country. i am so happy that they signed against it. the law banned gay clubs and same—sex affection in public, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison. for some, this wasn't enough. some nigerians simply took the law into their own hands. activists claim nigeria's anti—gay laws have empowered blackmailers and led to an explosion in kito. to understand what it is like to be gay in nigeria, i am meeting a queer film—maker. herfirst queerfilm was banned in cinemas across the country.

but she's invited me to the preview of her film 14 years and a day. i think the way they are perceived in nigeria is even worse. i experienced more than these periods during the film. there are queer people being blackmailed, extorted, beaten up. how rampant would you say the cases are? quite rampant. every other day there is a story on the internet. sometimes there are stories where somebody has been lynched to death. it is the reaction from the rest of the nigerians, you know? it is always reported about gays, kill them, they shouldn't be allowed to come out. and there is nojustice. if you reported to the police, more harassment. they will extort you some more.

more than anything they would target poor people for anything and everything. and so to be a poor and gay person is even worse. i want to meet some of the victims who have been affected by this crime. 0k, ready. four have agreed to meet me. it could be dangerous for them to reveal their identities, so we are using a secure location where they can speak freely. thank you so much for coming and i know this is not easy for you to talk about, but do you remember, you know, how you ended up being kitoed? what happened 7

how did you feel when he said that?

when the video went online, how is that experience like for you? when somebody has been kitoed, do they usually go to the police?

so this was in a police station? so it was the police who were beating you and recording you? so in this case you were kitoed by police? what were you afraid of the most?

i not entirely sure i was able to actually keep myself together when i was speaking to all the victims of kito. every single one of them struggling with their mental health to a point where they have lost so much and they feel like there is no more reason to live. i think what pains me the most is that they never getjustice. they never forget what they went through. some of them have been evicted from their homes. their lives will not be the same again. and the question is, should they have had to go through what

they went through? where does it stop? having heard how isolated and alone victims of kito can feel, i'm interested to know if there are safe spaces for the community. i have been invited to an underground queer party. these events are illegal and that could lead to years injail. so details are released at the last minute. while they need to remain vigilant, these activities are an opportunity for the community to come together, blow off steam, and be themselves in a country where it could have dangerous consequences. but even in this space, people

tell me that blackmailers have started hunting victims. this doesn't happen often and it takes a lot, according to some of them, when parties happen, doesn't happen every time, but when they do, they are in a secret location and trying to be as discreet as possible just for their safety. while victims of kito have told me that the police are sometimes complicit in the crime, there are some members of the law enforcement who are standing up for the queer community. though what this officer is doing is legal, we have agreed to withhold his identity.

this civil defence officer works with a team of activists who oppose online as queer people looking to hook up. but they actually have a very different objective — to catch a kito. victims send them profiles of other people who blackmail them names, telephone numbers, and photos, then the team start laying the trap with the aim of getting the suspect to agree to meet. once the suspect has agreed to meet, they will call on the civil defence officer and his men to provide the muscle and make the arrest. in effect, it is a sort of reverse kito, giving the blackmailers a taste of their own medicine. for two months, the activists have been undercover, communicating with a suspected blackmailer. he operates as part of a gang who are believed to have dozens

of victims across the country. finally got the suspect has agreed to meet the bait. the operation is going ahead. and i am going with them. i am a bit anxious because this could go either way and everything is moving very fast. this maroon car is the one the victim is in, and then security officers are in a different car as well. all we can do at this point is literally follow them because we don't interfere with their work. it is my hope that we can get to see an actual arrest of a kitoist and how it turns out. the civil defence unit has tried to catch this suspect twice before, but both times he's got away. there's a lot riding on this operation. the bait has arrived. he sets out on foot,

heading to the meeting point. meanwhile, i leave the car and make my way to a vantage point outside. the suspect and the bait head into the mall. he's fallen straight into the trap. positioned outside in the blue vehicle is the civil defence unit ready to pounce.

the team have arrested the kito and he's just resisting. basically this is what we call reverse kito. the same strategies that the kito would have used to nab a victim is a same one that the security officers have relied on. so now the more he's resisting it seems the more they're using force to arrest him. the unit finally managed to apprehend the kito. while i was shocked by the use of force, for the civil defence unit, this is a huge win. having arrested this target they may now be able to track down the gang he's working with and potentially save more victims from blackmail.

with little faith in the police, the queer community have developed their own form ofjustice. i've been told about an activist known as kayefi who brings blackmailers fa ce—to —fa ce with their victims. just put this on and then try covering your face. no problem. the aim of these meetings is for the blackmailers to realise the pain they inflict and to offer the victims of some kind of closure. kayefi's invited me to one of these reconciliations. what usually happens if they don't show up?

is there a chance that it doesn't go well because these are people who has been hurt facing the person who hurt them? has it ever gone bad? you dedicate a lot of time and work in trying to stop kitorists or blackmailers. why do you do what you do? how hard would you say your work is?

the blackmailer arrives and tells kayefi he was forced into kito because he was desperate to pay his bills. unable to get a job, a friend told him it was easy money, but once he started he couldn't get out. his friend was now threatening to keep blackmailing and was taking a big cut. he is remorseful about what he's done and he wants forgiveness. the blackmailer took advantage of the victim. he viciously beat him, stole his phone and all his money. i'm nervous to see how

this meeting will go.

the confession comes to an end and kayefi leads the victim out of the room. the victim is still in too much pain and hasn't been able to forgive the blackmailer for what he did to him, and the blackmailer is crippled with guilt, left in tears. it's clear to me there are no winners in this crime.

after attending one of kayefi's attempted reconciliations, i'm left reflecting on the

devastation this crime causes. for the victims, their lives are shunted with some unable to ever move on. and in the incident i witnessed, the blackmailer is still racked with guilt. with little support from the police and no prospect of nigeria's anti—gay laws being overturned, the blackmailers will continue to operate with almost total impunity. i could very easily describe blackmail or what they call kito here as a silent killer. that's because i've come across people who wish the breath they took was their last just because they've given up just because of their experiences. i've also come across people whose financial situation has pushed them to take such advantage of other people and from how i see it, kito or blackmail is a vicious cycle and until something is done then it will continue to thrive.

hello there. 25.1 celsius was the high in porthmadog in north—west wales on tuesday, making it the warmest day of the year so far across the country. and for the rest of the week, it does stay mainly dry thanks to high pressure, always the warmest and the sunniest of the weather towards western parts of the uk, always a bit cooler and cloudier further east. now, this is the blocking area of high pressure which will continue to bring this mainly dry weather. but if you cast your eyes down towards southern europe, it's a different story.

here, we've got daytime showers and thunderstorms breaking out for the rest of the week. so rainfall totals will continue to mount here. could even see some localised flooding in places but further north, thanks that area of high pressure, it's going to stay almost bone dry, but we could see some drizzle at times across eastern england under the thickest of the cloud as we start early wednesday, and under that cloud blanket, which will spread across much of england and wales, temperatures won't fall much below seven to ten degrees, but chilly under the clear skies in the northwest and a little bit of mist and fog, but it's here where you'll see the sunshine from the word go for wednesday morning. the clouds tending to thin and break and burn back to the coast, could linger across parts of the midlands, eastern england once again. and it'll be chilly along north sea coasts and the northern isles down to the southeast, mid—teens there, but up to the mid—20s, central belt of scotland, low 20s for northern ireland and parts of wales. wednesday night the low cloud rolls back into eastern scotland, much of central, southern, eastern england and also parts of wales. and again, those temperatures

ranging from around six to nine degrees, but a few chillier spots under the clear skies in the northwest. we do it all again for thursday. best of the sunshine again across northern and western areas, eastern scotland, eastern england will see that cloud burn back to the coast. but again, with the onshore breeze, which will be quite fresh across the east, and the south east, it'll feel cooler here, as opposed to western areas which will see temperatures again into the low 20s celsius. similar picture on friday, most of the cloud across northern and eastern areas. again, more of a breeze in across the southeast. that'll temper the temperatures somewhat. i think temperatures are a little lower across the board. we're in the low 20s out west in the sunshine, as opposed to the mid—20s. but into the weekend it stays largely fine. dry, plenty of sunshine again. best of the sunshine out west, always a bit cloudier and cooler along the north sea coasts.

live from washington. live from washington. this is bbc news. this is bbc news. welcome to viewers welcome to viewers on pbs in america on pbs in america the us debt ceiling bill the us debt ceiling bill passes a critical first passes a critical first test in congress before test in congress before going to a full vote going to a full vote in the house of in the house of representatives on wednesday. representatives on wednesday. the war in ukraine the war in ukraine reaches russia. vladimir putin says he'll reaches russia. vladimir putin says he'll boost air defences after boost air defences after an aerial attack on moscow. an aerial attack on moscow. ai could pose an existential ai could pose an existential threat to humanity: that's threat to humanity: that's the new warning from leading the new warning from leading experts in the field. experts in the field.