Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Video - CNN covers anti-gay law in Nigeria
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has signed a law banning same-sex marriage.
Related stories:
92 percent of Nigerians support anit-gay law
Wole Soyinka advises anti-gay bill legislators to go back to school
Dozens arrested in Nigeria after anti-gay law passes
Dozens of gay men are reported to have been arrested across northern Nigeria as police begin to enforce punitive new laws that criminalise same-sex marriages and membership of gay rights organisations.
The legislation, condemned by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and human rights groups in Europe, has come into force shortly after the Ugandan parliament passed an Anti-Homosexuality Act.
Last week Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which provides penalties of up to 14 years in jail for a gay marriage and up to 10 years' imprisonment for membership or encouragement of gay clubs, societies and organisations.
His spokesman, Reuben Abati, said: "This is a law that is in line with the people's cultural and religious inclination. So it is a law that is a reflection of the beliefs and orientation of Nigerian people … Nigerians are pleased with it."
Dorothy Aken'Ova, executive director of the country's International Centre for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights, said that the legislation, hailed the "Jail the Gays" law, had led to mass arrests. Police in Bauchi state, she claimed, had a list of 168 purportedly gay men, of whom 38 had been arrested.
The laws, she cautioned, will endanger medical programmes combating HIV-Aids in the gay community. Nigeria has the second-largest HIV epidemic globally with an estimated 3.4 million people living with HIV.
Responding to the spread of anti-gay legislation,Kerry said: "The United States is deeply concerned by Nigeria's enactment of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. Beyond even prohibiting same-sex marriage, this law dangerously restricts freedom of assembly, association and expression for all Nigerians.
"[The law] is inconsistent with Nigeria's international legal obligations and undermines the democratic reforms and human rights protections enshrined in its 1999 constitution," he added.
"People everywhere deserve to live in freedom and equality. No one should face violence or discrimination for who they are or who they love."
The London-based Human Dignity Trust, which supports legal actions around the world aimed at overturning anti-gay legislation, criticised both the Nigerian and Ugandan acts.
Jonathan Cooper, the trust's chief executive, has described the Ugandan legislation as "a bleak day for human rights. The bill undermines Uganda's human rights protection, breaches its international treaty obligations and violates Uganda's own constitution".
One of the men whose legal challenges the trust supported, Roger Jean-Claude Mbede, 34, died this week after being removed from hospital by his family. He had been jailed in Cameroon for sending a text message to another man saying: "I'm very much in love with you".
Mbede, whose case was highlighted by the Guardian in 2012, was subsequently declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
His lawyer, Alice Nkom, said: "[Mbede's] family said he was a curse for them and that we should let him die."
Guardian
Related stories: Law against homesexuality passes into law today in Nigeria
92 percent of Nigerians support anit-gay law
Wole Soyinka advises anti-gay bill legislators to go back to school
Being gay in Nigeria
The legislation, condemned by the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and human rights groups in Europe, has come into force shortly after the Ugandan parliament passed an Anti-Homosexuality Act.
Last week Nigeria's president, Goodluck Jonathan, signed the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, which provides penalties of up to 14 years in jail for a gay marriage and up to 10 years' imprisonment for membership or encouragement of gay clubs, societies and organisations.
His spokesman, Reuben Abati, said: "This is a law that is in line with the people's cultural and religious inclination. So it is a law that is a reflection of the beliefs and orientation of Nigerian people … Nigerians are pleased with it."
Dorothy Aken'Ova, executive director of the country's International Centre for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights, said that the legislation, hailed the "Jail the Gays" law, had led to mass arrests. Police in Bauchi state, she claimed, had a list of 168 purportedly gay men, of whom 38 had been arrested.
The laws, she cautioned, will endanger medical programmes combating HIV-Aids in the gay community. Nigeria has the second-largest HIV epidemic globally with an estimated 3.4 million people living with HIV.
Responding to the spread of anti-gay legislation,Kerry said: "The United States is deeply concerned by Nigeria's enactment of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act. Beyond even prohibiting same-sex marriage, this law dangerously restricts freedom of assembly, association and expression for all Nigerians.
"[The law] is inconsistent with Nigeria's international legal obligations and undermines the democratic reforms and human rights protections enshrined in its 1999 constitution," he added.
"People everywhere deserve to live in freedom and equality. No one should face violence or discrimination for who they are or who they love."
The London-based Human Dignity Trust, which supports legal actions around the world aimed at overturning anti-gay legislation, criticised both the Nigerian and Ugandan acts.
Jonathan Cooper, the trust's chief executive, has described the Ugandan legislation as "a bleak day for human rights. The bill undermines Uganda's human rights protection, breaches its international treaty obligations and violates Uganda's own constitution".
One of the men whose legal challenges the trust supported, Roger Jean-Claude Mbede, 34, died this week after being removed from hospital by his family. He had been jailed in Cameroon for sending a text message to another man saying: "I'm very much in love with you".
Mbede, whose case was highlighted by the Guardian in 2012, was subsequently declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
His lawyer, Alice Nkom, said: "[Mbede's] family said he was a curse for them and that we should let him die."
Guardian
Related stories: Law against homesexuality passes into law today in Nigeria
92 percent of Nigerians support anit-gay law
Wole Soyinka advises anti-gay bill legislators to go back to school
Being gay in Nigeria
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Car bomb hits Maiduguri
A car bomb has exploded in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, and there are fears of many casualties.
Reports say a second car was set on fire by the blast. Blood-spattered people were seen fleeing and vehicles crashed into each other as they tried to leave, while soldiers fired automatic weapons.
A suicide bomber is suspected of being behind the blast.
The Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, is active in the region.
PUNCH
Reports say a second car was set on fire by the blast. Blood-spattered people were seen fleeing and vehicles crashed into each other as they tried to leave, while soldiers fired automatic weapons.
A suicide bomber is suspected of being behind the blast.
The Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, is active in the region.
PUNCH
Monday, January 13, 2014
Law against homosexuality passes into law today in Nigeria
Nigeria's president has signed a law that bans same-sex marriage and criminalizes homosexual associations, societies and meetings, with penalties of up to 14 years in jail.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act on Monday that was signed by President Goodluck Jonathan and dated Jan. 7.
It was unclear why the law's passage has been shrouded in secrecy. The copy obtained from the House of Representatives in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, showed it was signed by those lawmakers and senators on Dec. 17, though no announcement was made.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday the United States is "deeply concerned" by a law that "dangerously restricts freedom of assembly, association, and expression for all Nigerians." Nigeria is one of the top crude oil suppliers to the United States.
It is now a crime to have a meeting of gays, or to operate or go to a gay club, society or organization.
In a recent interview, Olumide Makanjuola, executive director of the Initiative For Equality in Nigeria, had said: "If that bill passes, it will be illegal for us to even be holding this conversation."
The new law says, "A person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies or organizations, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years."
Anyone convicted of entering into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union faces up to 14 years' imprisonment.
Nigeria already has a law inherited from British colonizers that makes homosexual sex illegal in the West African nation. In the areas in Nigeria's north where Islamic Shariah law is enforced, gays and lesbians can face death by stoning.
Makanjuloa said those who will suffer most under the law are poor gay Nigerians. Many rich ones already have left the country, or say they will fly elsewhere to have sex, she said.
The court of the European Union recently ruled that laws such as that passed in Nigeria could provide grounds for political asylum.
A spokesman for the British High Commission in Nigeria said: "The U.K. opposes any form of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation." The spokesman, traditionally not identified by name, echoed Kerry's concerns about freedom of expression, saying the law "infringes upon fundamental rights of expression and association which are guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and by international agreements to which Nigeria is a party."
The British government recently threatened to cut aid to African countries that violate the rights of gay and lesbian citizens. However, British aid remains quite small in oil-rich Nigeria.
There has been no real opposition to the law among Nigerians, many of whom are religious and conservative. Whether Christian or Muslim, they often follow traditional mores and believe that homosexuality is unnatural and evil.
Nigerians are the least tolerant nation when it comes to gays, with 98 percent surveyed saying society should not accept homosexuality, according to a study of 39 nations by the U.S. Pew Research Center.
Nigeria's law does not contain a previous proposal making it obligatory for anyone knowing a homosexual to report that person to authorities, or face up to seven years in jail. That would have included a parent or friend of a homosexual.
And it is not as draconian as a Ugandan bill approved by parliament in December and awaiting the signature of President Yoweri Museveni. It carries a punishment of life in prison for "aggravated" homosexual sex involving someone infected with HIV, a minor or a disabled person.
The president of Gambia has said homosexuals should be decapitated.
Some 38 African countries — about 70 percent of the continent — criminalize homosexual activity, Amnesty International said in a report released last year.
When Nigerians with minority sexual orientations tried to give evidence last year in debate in the House of Assembly, they were heckled and booed until one broke into tears. Another could not be heard.
A statement by the Nigerian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersex Diaspora to legislators urged them not to make them refugees.
Criminalizing same-sex relationships "turns us into asylum seekers in other countries," it said. "We visit home with trepidation because at home we have to live a life full of lies and deny who we are for us to be accepted. Why do we want to keep subjecting our citizens to such psychological and emotional torture?"
AP
Related stories: 92 percent of Nigerians support anit-gay law
Wole Soyinka advises anti-gay bill legislators to go back to school
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act on Monday that was signed by President Goodluck Jonathan and dated Jan. 7.
It was unclear why the law's passage has been shrouded in secrecy. The copy obtained from the House of Representatives in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, showed it was signed by those lawmakers and senators on Dec. 17, though no announcement was made.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday the United States is "deeply concerned" by a law that "dangerously restricts freedom of assembly, association, and expression for all Nigerians." Nigeria is one of the top crude oil suppliers to the United States.
It is now a crime to have a meeting of gays, or to operate or go to a gay club, society or organization.
In a recent interview, Olumide Makanjuola, executive director of the Initiative For Equality in Nigeria, had said: "If that bill passes, it will be illegal for us to even be holding this conversation."
The new law says, "A person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies or organizations, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years."
Anyone convicted of entering into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union faces up to 14 years' imprisonment.
Nigeria already has a law inherited from British colonizers that makes homosexual sex illegal in the West African nation. In the areas in Nigeria's north where Islamic Shariah law is enforced, gays and lesbians can face death by stoning.
Makanjuloa said those who will suffer most under the law are poor gay Nigerians. Many rich ones already have left the country, or say they will fly elsewhere to have sex, she said.
The court of the European Union recently ruled that laws such as that passed in Nigeria could provide grounds for political asylum.
A spokesman for the British High Commission in Nigeria said: "The U.K. opposes any form of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation." The spokesman, traditionally not identified by name, echoed Kerry's concerns about freedom of expression, saying the law "infringes upon fundamental rights of expression and association which are guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and by international agreements to which Nigeria is a party."
The British government recently threatened to cut aid to African countries that violate the rights of gay and lesbian citizens. However, British aid remains quite small in oil-rich Nigeria.
There has been no real opposition to the law among Nigerians, many of whom are religious and conservative. Whether Christian or Muslim, they often follow traditional mores and believe that homosexuality is unnatural and evil.
Nigerians are the least tolerant nation when it comes to gays, with 98 percent surveyed saying society should not accept homosexuality, according to a study of 39 nations by the U.S. Pew Research Center.
Nigeria's law does not contain a previous proposal making it obligatory for anyone knowing a homosexual to report that person to authorities, or face up to seven years in jail. That would have included a parent or friend of a homosexual.
And it is not as draconian as a Ugandan bill approved by parliament in December and awaiting the signature of President Yoweri Museveni. It carries a punishment of life in prison for "aggravated" homosexual sex involving someone infected with HIV, a minor or a disabled person.
The president of Gambia has said homosexuals should be decapitated.
Some 38 African countries — about 70 percent of the continent — criminalize homosexual activity, Amnesty International said in a report released last year.
When Nigerians with minority sexual orientations tried to give evidence last year in debate in the House of Assembly, they were heckled and booed until one broke into tears. Another could not be heard.
A statement by the Nigerian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersex Diaspora to legislators urged them not to make them refugees.
Criminalizing same-sex relationships "turns us into asylum seekers in other countries," it said. "We visit home with trepidation because at home we have to live a life full of lies and deny who we are for us to be accepted. Why do we want to keep subjecting our citizens to such psychological and emotional torture?"
AP
Related stories: 92 percent of Nigerians support anit-gay law
Wole Soyinka advises anti-gay bill legislators to go back to school
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