Anti-LGBTQI+ legislation has been introduced in recent years.
The Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) is a non-governmental, non-profit, and a Pro-people organization that stands against all Human rights abuses, harassments, extortion and Injustice of any kind in our both local and non-local societies. According to its Nigeria representatives, threats of violence against the LGBTQI+ community are on the rise and intensifying, according to a new briefing by the HRHF.
The HRHF document, distributed to government and law enforcement agencies on May 13, said that domestic violence extremists and people who commit hate crimes have increased threats of violence against the LGBTQI+ community within the last few years.
“These issues include actions linked to violent discrimination against women, sexual orientation, Gender Equality. Whilst there is no single cause for such violence, some of the strongest and most consistent factors are harmful social norms that contribute to gender inequality. These norms are based on shared beliefs and expectations about how people should behave. They include male entitlement, domination and control over the bodies of women and girls, and rigid gender roles,” HRHF said.
HRHF said that the issues inspiring threats and calls of violence against the LGBTQI+ community could lead to a rise of potential attacks against larger targets, such as public spaces and healthcare sites that may be linked to the community. The threats and probable onslaught on James Adeosun and Ms. Okenile, wife of human right lawyer, Barr. Okenile, who allegedly identified as bisexuals underscore the height of cruelty and intolerance melted on victims of Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act.
Further, the threats of conspiracy and criminal imputation of aiding and abetting on spouses of victims of Anti-LGBTQI+ legislation, HRHF said, is anti-human rights legislations both locally and internationally.
“High-profile attacks against faith-based institutions like the recent manhunt of Mr. Adeosun, Ms. Okenile and their group has historically served as inspiration for law enforcement agencies to conduct copycat attacks,” HRHF said.
In recent times, the Nigerian legislature has introduced legislation that critics say targets the LGBTQI+ community. On Tuesday, police in Nigeria’s southern Delta State arrested several dozen people accused of violating the country’s anti-gay law by allegedly participating in a gay wedding. The police publicly paraded the suspects before the media, interrogating them about the accusations, assaulting their dignity and rights to privacy, association, and a fair trial, among others.
In a media statement on April 9, the Delta State commissioner of police, Wale Abbas, said 67 men and women were arrested at a hotel in Warri for conducting and attending the purported gay wedding, which is prohibited under Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act.
The police shamelessly livestreamed the media spectacle on their official Delta State police Facebook page.
Recently, Nigeria’s Federal High Court found that pre-trial media parade violates the country’s constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantee respect for the dignity of the person and the right to a fair trial, including the presumption of innocence.
Despite this ruling, police have continued the abusive practice with total impunity.
Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act, enacted in 2014, criminalizes same-sex marriage and public displays of same-sex relationships with prison sentences of up to 14 and 10 years respectively. It also punishes establishing, supporting, and participating in gay organizations with up to 10 years in prison.
Human Rights House Foundation found in a 2021 report that the law had served to legitimize abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, including extortion, arbitrary arrest, torture and other ill-treatment, and sexual violence.
Nigerian authorities should ensure accountability for the police’s unlawful media parade and urgently end the practice. They should release without charge everyone arrested under the anti-gay law, and seek its repeal. No one’s lives should be criminalized simply because of their real or perceived sexual orientation.
