The matter of homosexuality is one which is becoming increasingly critical to social discourse in Nigeria today. Newspaper headlines are daily graced with gruesome captions of homosexual incidence, and most of the time, it is about gay rape. This malicious portrayal of classical homosexuals as a bunch of rapists and criminals has continued to fuel the stigma and deliberate isolation of the gay community in Nigeria.

It is not only the current media onslaught against innocent gay people that is the problem, the underlying issue is the fact that Nigeria, like many other African countries, has instituted misguided laws which prevents or outrightly restricts the freedom and human rights of people who profess to be gay. This outlandish stance by the Federal Government is not only reminiscent of the Holocaust program of Hitlerite Germany, but an unfortunate consequence of a society that only celebrates avarice and has no regard for human dignity.

For those who may wonder at my robust condemnations, and naturally run to the most traditional conclusions, let me preempt you; yes, I am proudly gay. No, I am not a rapist. Yes, I am a law abiding and patriotic citizen. No, I do not sodomize adolescent boys for sports. Yes, I find certain guys attractive. No, I am not going to even look at your side, because you are most probably not even close to my spec.

Being gay in Nigeria is like being a Jew in Mecca. This has pushed the gay community into the underworld and caused untold psychological trauma to innocent citizens. As an effect of this current oppression of the LGBT community, the institution of marriage has become increasingly threatened; cases of forced marriages between gay men and straight women,or straight men and gay women continues to become epidemic, marriages are collapsing on a daily basis due to being built on lies. Also true social vices and humanitarian risks such as infidelity, spread of STIs, gay rape, human trafficking of young gay boys and girls, depression, and assorted crimes are consuming our society.

Essentially, in a bid to repress a harmless minority,the larger society continues to suffer from wanton decay. This is however a story for another day.

The purpose of this thread is to expose something in the constitution, as it affects the gay community, that most people may be ignorant about. While it is generally assumed that homosexuality is a criminal offence, what is not known is that declaring one's self as gay is not an offence. I discovered this after carefully perusing the constitution and the same sex prohibition act. As it stands, the Nigerian constitution simply has no provision concerning gay identity. Let us take a look at the constitution:


According to the The Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) bill of 2013 and The Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2014;

1. Anyone involved in public advocacy or associations supporting the rights of lesbian and gay people shall be liable to five years imprisonment.

2. Anyone who undergoes, performs, witnesses, aids, or abets a same-sex marriage shall also be liable to five years imprisonment(now in correctional custody as ammended)

3. Prohibition of any display of a same-sex "amorous" relationship and adoption of children by gays or lesbians.

4. 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.

5. Anyone caught in the act of homosexual intercourse or sodomy is liable to 14 years in correctional custody.

Nowhere in this act does the constitution state that identifying one's self as gay is a crime or punishable by law.

It therefore is a matter of consternation as to why people assume that once you identify as gay,you are entitled to a one-way ticket to kirikiri.

The problem of identifying as gay is majorly the stigma brought about by religious dogma and state sponsored hysteria. However, declaring one's self gay is not a crime in itself. Therefore, people like Bobrisky(a most obnoxious and repulsive personality if you ask me) cannot be prosecuted based on their identity.

This ironically happens to be a tiny ray of hope for the gay community in Nigeria. However,the problem of stigmatization and dehumanization remains. Even if you come out as gay, you simply cannot take a partner or be seen to take a partner, or seek a union with such a partner, because those actions are construed as criminal.

I actually checked out the act, and I think you may be correct.

Nicely done op. I always wondered why bobrisky wasn't in jail. I guess this explains it.

Blue3k:
Nicely done op. I always wondered why bobrisky wasn't in jail. I guess this explains it.

Nobody has been recorded to be convicted via the same sex prohibition act. That is majorly due to the fact that the act is quite vague in it's applicability.

You cannot under normal circumstances catch gay people having sex, except you forcefully access their domain(which is a crime and hence renders your case useless), neither will gay people announce marriage anywhere in Nigeria. So the law is just there to suppress the LGBT community.

If you are familiar with the "they didn't caught me" character early last year, he was released. People like Bobrisky too cannot be prosecuted based on gay identity alone.

DikeDiMighty:
Nobody has been recorded to be convicted via the same sex prohibition act. That is majorly due to the fact that the act is quite vague in it's applicability.

You cannot under normal circumstances catch gay people having sex, except you forcefully access their domain(which is a crime and hence renders your case useless), neither will gay people announce marriage anywhere in Nigeria. So the law is just there to suppress the LGBT community.

If you are familiar with the "they didn't caught me" character early last year, he was released. People like Bobrisky too cannot be prosecuted based on gay identity alone.

The act is mostly useless. It's pretty unenforceable unless the people in question are trying to get caught. By this logic homosexuals can cohabitate easily. They just can't adapot kids from orphanages. I dont think they could before law was passed anyway.

Hian......


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