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IGLHRC Report: Gay Nigerians respond to same-sex prohibition act
18 Feb 2007 – Nigerian lesbians, gay men,
bisexuals and transgenders speak out against a proposed law in a new
report by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).
The report, Voices from Nigeria provides personal
accounts of homophobic attacks, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and
increased levels of homophobia that have already begun as a result of
the introduction of the legislation, Act to Make Provisions for the
Prohibition of Relationship Between Persons of the Same Sex, Celebration
of Marriage by Them, and for Other Matters Connected Therewith, referred
to as the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act.
Introduced to the Nigerian National Assembly in January
2006, the Act launches a vigorous attack on freedom of expression,
assembly, and association in Africa’s most populous nation.
If passed, the law would create criminal penalties for
engaging in same- sex marriages or relationships and for advocating for
the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.
Simply taking part in a gay or lesbian club or support
group would be illegal.
Public hearings on the bill were held on February 14,
2007, by the Women’s Committee of Nigeria’s National Assembly and it
could be voted into law as early as next month.
“Ultimately, it is the lives of LGBT Nigerians that will
be affected by this law,” said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC's Senior
Specialist for Africa. “The report is meant to turn up the volume of
those voices.”
One of those interviewed for the IGLHRC report is an HIV
Outreach worker named Chuma who was arrested and detained by the police
in Lagos in 2006 while carrying out research for a study on the
prevalence and risk factors of HIV/Aids among men that have sex with
men.
According to Chuma, “a team of policemen in Lagos came to
my apartment and took me away to an unknown place for two days.
“I was beaten beyond recognition, and I am still
receiving treatment for the head injury I received. I was dehumanized
and paraded naked to the press... My only offense was that I am gay.” Chuma
was eventually released without being charged or tried.
Sarah, a Nigerian sexual rights activist, believes that
many Nigerians are acting like the Bill has already been passed. She
cites attacks on gay men in Abuja, the capital city, and the expulsion
of cadets from a national military academy.
During the hearings, officials in the Nigerian
president’s office claimed that passage of the bill would help to fight
HIV.
Aishat, a gay Nigerian man interviewed for the report
argues however that “the Bill will force to people having sex in secret
rather than stopping gays having sex. Condoms will be used less and less
often because there will be no time to develop relationships because of
fear of being caught.”
In releasing the report, IGLHRC has called on the
Nigerian authorities to remember their commitments to International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that guarantees freedom
from unfair discrimination and the right to privacy.
Provisions of the Act are also inconsistent with the
principle of non- discrimination found in the African Charter on Human
and People’s Rights and the Nigerian Constitution.
The Act would also be in breach of the Cotonou
Agreement, which was signed by the ACP (African, Caribbean, and
Pacific) and the European Union in Cotonor, Benin, in 2002.
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