National Assembly Members

Openly gay people yesterday stormed the National Assembly in Abuja seeking for legislation that will guarantee the protection of what they termed their right to determine their sexual orientation.

At a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Human Rights, Women Affairs and Justice, the homosexuals also decried moves by legislators to pass a bill that seeks to prohibit and criminalise same sex marriage.

The public hearing was for an “Act to prohibit marriage between persons of same gender, solemn-isation of same and for other matters related therewith.”

Speaking for Queer Alliance, a group in the forefront of agitation for the abolition of all forms of discrimination against homosexuality in Nigeria, a youth, Mr. Rashidi Williams said that homosexuality “which is a private decision does not in anyway impinge on the rights of others.”

“We are law abiding citizens and have not fallen into any problems with the laws. None of us would want to be discriminated against because of our sexuality that we have no control nor have we chosen. It is already a trial to survive the hardship of our nation let alone the discrimination we face as sexual minorities,” he added.

Williams pleaded with lawmakers to look at homosexuals as God’s creations that shouldn’t be discriminated against, just as he urged the committee to discard the bill.

“We believe that we are created by God and do not wish to be discriminated against, we seek your help and appeal to you all to lay this bill aside. We ask that the House of Representatives and our lawmakers work with us to understand the concept of sexuality and sexual orientation through our experiences and not create laws that punish us needlessly.”

Human Rights Watch in collaboration with Global Rights, all with headquarters in the USA also opposed the criminalisation of same sex marriage in Nigeria.

In a joint presentation, the duo likened the bill to one proposed by former Minister of Justice Mr. Bayo Ojo, which according to them would have punished with imprisonment not only “the registration of gay clubs, societies and organisations, sustenance, procession or meetings” but any “public show of same sex amorous relationship directly or indirectly in public and private.”

They argued that the present bill “appears to have a more limited purpose, but in fact perpetuates the same potential for serious human rights abuses.” They said the bill won’t serve any immediate purpose since Nigerians are not clamouring for it.

According to them, “marriage between persons of the same gender is not now legal in Nigeria, and there is no possibility of its recognition without specific state affirmation...Imposing criminal penalties on this particular form of marital relationship is redundant. It can only be construed as an effort to further stigmatise relationships between persons of same gender-and to provide additional grounds for official harassment, arrests and persecutions of anyone even suspected of such a relationship,” they added.

Groups like Sexual Minorities Against Aids in Nigeria (SMAAN), BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights, Amnesty International and Changing Attitude Nigeria all spoke against passage of the bill.

However, an overwhelming number of people at the public hearing, especially religious bodies, supported the enactment of the bill.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in its presentation said it “strongly supports this bill and wants the members of the National Assembly to ensure that it is passed. Every country has its laws; there is nothing like a universal law and you see weird ways of life affecting our people negatively. Christians and Muslims are strongly against homosexuality.”

On its part, the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) said “same sex marriage is out to foist on the world a false sense of the family which will bring disastrous c