Mr. Mac-Iyalla has been arrested, beaten and incarcerated for possession of printed gay-friendly materials found in his car, and later forced to flee the country following numerous death threats. The Nigerian Anglican Church, led by Archbishop Peter Akinola, has steadily pressured the Nigerian government to enact a series of repressive laws designed to silence gay Nigerian voices. At one point, Mr. Mac-Iyalla was harassed by the Rev. Tunde Popoola, Canon for Communications for the Archibishop of Abuja, who accused him of a variety of crimes, denied he was a member of the Anglican Church, and even insisted that Mr. Mac-Iyalla had ever existed.

Archbishop Akinola has been a key player in the present schism in the U.S. Episcopal Church by naming his own bishop for several breakaway American congregations.