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 committed to catching him. it s his turn here. committed to catching him. it s his turn here. it says are beheaded. i his turn here. it says are beheaded. his turn here. it says are beheaded. i am a kenyan journalist beheaded. i am a kenyan journalist and beheaded. i am a kenyan journalist and i beheaded. i am a kenyan journalist and i have - 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 of nigeria, the queer community have been targeted by blackmailers. they threatened to kidnap, beat, and extort them. in the car ahead is a civil defence unit. arme
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.
Anyone could lead to years in jail. 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
Laughing at me? we were like, no. he got angry. reporter: the look on his face is etched in boyd s mind. i felt fear. a sense of fear. something wasn t right with him. mentally. reporter: airport security intervened, but no one was charged. abc news has confirmed alexis was at the airport. it would be only three days later that alexis would call newport, rhode island, police with a bizarre story about hearing voices and being under surveillance by shadowy forces after an altercation at a virginia airport. some of these people who really are suffering from a mental health problem or issue really have nowhere to go. reporter: we learned how alexis got a shotgun past security at the navy yard. the fbi director told us alexis had sawed off his shotgun, apparently so he could hide it in a bag. he was hunting victims, randomly shooting anyone he encountered. pierre thomas, abc news, washington. developing news out of
Grandson in florida. he never made it. schlender was found shot dead in his car. i mean, this is a violent end to a very kind man s life. it s hard to imagine your father in that situation. reporter: three days later, 50 miles away, it was lori anne carswell found along another highway. also shot dead. authorities suspect they were killed by someone posing as a police officer, possibly driving a gold unmarked crown victoria sedan. motorists are beginning to look over their shoulders. really is a bad situation. i haven t been out driving today and, yes, i would be paying attention. reporter: police are warning mississippi drivers if you are being followed by an unmarked car, dial 911. an operator will confirm it s a real cop. a former fbi profiler says if the cases are connected, we could be at the beginning of a nightmare. this is predatory behavior. predatory behavior means out hunting victims, and i know that s very scary, but that s what we see in these kinds of cases.