Nigeria - Gay Law for Review?

ABUJA - A group, the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has called for the review of the extant rules contained in the law banning gay marriages in Nigeria, passed recently by the National Assembly. The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko, made the call yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. He said that the new law would infringe on the rights of particular persons whose duty might necessarily make them liable in the line of their duties. “How do you explain the fact that the Act has made provisions for the conviction of the persons who are not practicing gay marriage but are just mere witness? “For instance, journalists or investigators who in the course of their duties come across or arrest such people, they might be convicted based on the content of the bill.” Onwubiko stressed the need for the National Assembly to specifically amend the provision that specified terms of punishment for witnesses to avoid human rights abuse. The coordinator, however, commended the National Assembly for protecting the integrity of Nigerian values, especially as it related to marital obligations and marriage rights. He said that it was appropriate that everything should be done to stop the infiltration of Nigeria’s culture by unnatural practices. The House of Representatives on May 30, approved 14 years imprisonment for persons who contracted same sex marriage in Nigeria. (Culled Nigerian Observer)