A former foreign affairs minister of Nigeria, Bola Akinyemi, claimed that the United States and the United Kingdom urged him to change the country’s laws to allow same-sex marriage. The UK and US were informed, according to Akinyemi, who worked in the Goodluck Jonathan government, that the issue of same sex marriage was taboo in Nigeria. He revealed that the two nations had persuaded the Nigerian government to change its course while the National Assembly was considering new legislation.
According to an interview with Arise TV, Akinyemi claimed that the man was aware of the ways in which the US and the UK influenced him while (former President Goodluck) Jonathan was in office. He described how the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth paid a visit when a bill was being considered by the National Assembly. He also described how President Jonathan had consulted him about how to handle the situation and received his advice that it was a “no-go” for the nation.
Current Nigerian law prohibits the LGBTQ community.
In the nation, the LGBTQ community is against the law. This includes people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, and pansexual. The law was enacted by former President Jonathan on January 7, 2014, and it stipulates that violators would serve around 14 years in prison. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) activists maintained that despite the Same-Sex Prohibition Act, legislation that restricted and stigmatized them violated their human rights to freedom of association.
Activists asserted that notwithstanding the Same-Sex Prohibition Act, legislation that restricted and stigmatized them violated their human rights to freedom of association. Speaking on the contentious abortion rights upheld by the US Supreme Court, Akinyemi claimed that the cultures of Nigeria and the West are distinct. The LGBTQ+ community was told by Nigerian authorities in January 2019 to leave the country or risk prosecution. According to Dolapo Badmus, a spokesperson for the police, the law says a person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies, or organizations, directly or indirectly makes a public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to a term of ten years.
The Nigerian police strictly warns homosexuals.
Dolapo Badmus, a spokesman for the Nigerian police, has issued a warning to the homosexual community in the nation that the force will not tolerate any acts that violate the Same-Sex Prohibition Act there. According to her, if one has homosexual tendencies, Nigeria is not the place for them. According to the Same-Sex Prohibition Act in this country, homosexual clubs, associations, and organizations are illegal and subject to fines and sentences of up to 15 years in prison.
The LGBTQ community had been active in various areas of the country despite the Same-Sex Prohibition Act’s existence. According to some LGBTQ activists, regulations that limit and stigmatize them violate their right to freedom of association. The police spokesperson did, however, issue a warning to Nigerians to follow the law. But she urged Nigerians to back up any claims of homosexuality with facts, stating that prosecution and conviction of suspects are not based on imagination but rather on evidence; otherwise, it will be classified as hearsay which is not allowed in court.
Prohibition act was signed into law by the former President Jonathan.
On January 7, 2014, the same-sex marriage prohibition act was ratified by the previous president, Goodluck Jonathan. Attempts by Nigerian lesbian Pamela Adie to register a lesbian organization in the nation were rejected by an Abuja federal high court in November 2018. After her application to register a business under the name “Lesbian Equality and Empowerment Initiatives” was denied because it violated a Nigerian legislation that forbids same-sex marriage, Pamela Adie sued the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
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