Blackmail, prejudice and persecutn: gay rights Nigeria | Global velopment | The Guardian

Contents:

• BLACKMAIL, PREJUDICE AND PERSECUTN: GAY RIGHTS NIGERIA
• OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE
• THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV
• LGBTQ+ NIGERIANS ARE CELEBRATG PRI MONTH DEFIANCE OF ANTI-GAY LAW
• 'SEX EDUTN'S' ERIC EFFNG IS SPIRATN TO NIGERIA'S GAYS, SAYS ACTIVIST
• GAY IN NIGERIA: LGBT LIFE IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC NATNS
• ‘I WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO COME OUT AS GAY ON LIVE TV NIGERIA’
• MEET THE FIRST MAN TO E OUT AS GAY ON NIGERIAN TELEVISN

BLACKMAIL, PREJUDICE AND PERSECUTN: GAY RIGHTS NIGERIA

”The Same Sex Marriage Prohibn Act, which banned gay relatnships and entrenched tolerance to sexual mori Nigerian society, was signed by Print Goodluck Jonathan January 2014. Xeenarh Mohammed, the executive director of the Lagos-based Iniative for Equal Rights (TIERS), said the law had historilly been ed to harass and blackmail gay people but there had not been any nvictns. The acced say they were attendg a birthday Same Sex Marriage Prohibn Act, which banned gay relatnships and entrenched tolerance of sexual mori Nigerian society, was signed by Goodluck Jonathan, then print, January law ed an ternatnal outcry, wh nmnatn om global human rights anisatn and wtern ernments.

Surveys have historilly shown high levels of homophobia Nigeria, but some have poted to what mpaigners say is a tentative, growg acceptance of gay men and June, high urt judg Botswana led that laws crimalisg same-sex relatns were unnstutnal and should be stck down, a major victory for gay rights mpaigners Ai. Botswana is regard as one of Ai’s most stable and mocratic natns, but homosexualy was outlawed unr the untry’s penal of, Mozambique and the Seychell have scrapped anti-gay laws recent judg rejected the precent set by India, which last year legalised gay sex between nsentg adults, as well as by a seri of other judgments across the Commonwealth and elsewhere, and said Kenya should make s own laws to reflect s own Tanzania, thori Dar Salaam, the biggt cy, have lnched a seri of crackdowns on gay people recent years.

I wanted to start meangful nversatns around genr norms and masculy that speak specifilly to our reali as gay men wh a culture that is poisonoly patriarchal and eply homophobic. Agast a backdrop of adly anti-gay vlence, A Nasty Boy dared to be a haven for gay men Nigeria and, no time, received ternatnal attentn through CNN, BBC, The Guardian, The Enomist, Vogue, and others. And yet, even this gome attack pal parison to the fatal btaly many Nigerian gay men have too often experienced the form of lynchgs or pillory wh tir before they’re set on fire and burnt alive—not for terrorism or worse, but for beg gay, for beg human, a sperately homophobic untry.

OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE

A 2017 survey by The Iniative for Equal Rights (TIERS), a Nigerian-based human rights anizatn, showed 90% of Nigerians support the ntued enforcement of Nigeria’s anti-gay laws. In June, three gay men – Abdullahi Beti, Kau Ya’u and Mallam Hana – were arrted unr the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibn) Act 2013 and subsequently sentenced to ath by a Sharia urt Ngi, Bchi state.

THE NEW ANTI-GAY BILL PROPOSED GHANA WILL DTROY LIV

Homosexualy⚢✖ Illegal (other penalty)Censorship✖ Imprisonment as punishmentNon-bary genr regnnUnknownDiscrimatn✖ No protectnsEmployment Discrimatn✖ No protectnsHog Discrimatn✖ No protectnsConversn Therapy✖ Not banned. Imprisonment as punishment In addn to crimalizg homosexualy, Nigeria has enacted legislatn that would make illegal for heterosexual fay members, alli and iends of LGBT people to be supportive.

LGBTQ+ NIGERIANS ARE CELEBRATG PRI MONTH DEFIANCE OF ANTI-GAY LAW

Acrdg to Nigerian law, a heterosexual ally "who admisters, wns, abets or aids" any form of genr non-nformg and homosexual activy uld receive a 10-year jail to change legal genr Nigeria? In a 2020 report released by the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Associatn, nearly half of the 69 untri where homosexualy is still crimalized are Ain untri. In ls than six months, the muny has e unr tense and repeated attacks om policians, the police, relig groups, and anti-gay anizatns, cludg a heavily biased media mted to pilloryg and misreprentg an already margalized group.

A report released 2016 by Human Rights Watch highlighted a particularly chillg cint outsi Abuja, Nigeria’s pal, where a vlent armed mob of more than 50 people went om home to home, draggg out and beatg dividuals spected of beg gay. ” It impos a 10-year prison sentence on those who “directly or directly make [a] public show of [a] same-sex amoro relatnship” and anyone who “registers, operat, or participat gay clubs, societi, and anizatns, ” cludg supporters of those groups. “This law crimaliz the liv of gay and lbian people, but the damage would e extends to every sgle Nigerian, ” said Graeme Reid, Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgenr (LGBT) rights director at Human Rights Watch.

“The law is so vague that is likely to lead to the arbrary arrt of gay people, while facilatg extortn and blackmail of vulnerable groups by members of Nigeria’s notorly rpt secury servic, ” Reid said. And Augt, lawmakers proposed a bill (still unr review) so extreme that simply sayg you are gay or lbian uld land you mandatory nversn therapy or prison for up to 10 years.

'SEX EDUTN'S' ERIC EFFNG IS SPIRATN TO NIGERIA'S GAYS, SAYS ACTIVIST

Same-sex nduct is not illegal  Rwanda, but thori there round up and arbrarily taed people regard as socially unsirable, cludg over a dozen gay and transgenr people, sex workers, street children, and others the months before a planned June 2021 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetg. By Pelumi SalakoILORIN, Nigeria, June 23 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) — YouTuber Victor Emmanuel knows first-hand how tough life is for people who are openly gay Nigeria, where LGBTQ+ relatnships and even same-sex displays of affectn are year, he was kidnapped by seven men who blackmailed, extorted, and tortured him for two days an attack that has sce left him nstantly lookg over his shoulr.

"Nigeria is a eply relig untry, where many reject homosexualy as a rptg Wtern 2014, the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibn) Act was signed to law, which bars not only gay relatnships but also any public sign of same-sex affectn or membership of LGBTQ+ groups, wh punishments of up to 14 years prison. Gay sex is illegal more than half of Ain untri, acrdg to global LGBTQ+ rights tracker Equalx, although Gabon, Kenya, and Botswana have all crimalised same-sex relatns recent spe the risks, activists are phg to exprs themselv and mand change this June, a month which is marked around the world wh LGBTQ+ Pri ralli and parti.

The legislatn amounts to "refully nstcted state vlence" which "exacerbat queerphobia and prevents om havg a muny, " said Kayo Ani Somtochwu, founr of the Queer Unn for Enomic and Social Transformatn (QUEST) Mistry of Jtice and the police force did not immediately rpond to requts for 2018, a group of 47 men were arrted and later charged for allegedly jog a gay club, a se that drew ternatnal outcry and was wily seen as a tt of the men said they were at a birthday party and the se was thrown out by a judge due to the "lack of diligent prosecutn. "But LGBTQ+ people are growg creasgly vol and visible, wh the ter providg a space for gay-iendly films, talk shows, and rights groups barred om formally registerg as an anisatn unr the same-sex marriage law, most anisg and support groups take place onle.

GAY IN NIGERIA: LGBT LIFE IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC NATNS

Sectn 5(2) crimalis registerg, operatg or participatg gay clubs, societi or anisatns, or makg a public show of a same-sex relatnship wh a penalty of ten years imprisonment. In Ghiri town near Abuja Febary, a mob of about 40 men reportedly dragged a number of spected gay men om their beds the middle of the night, after smashg down doors to their hom hoe-to-hoe raids.

“A person who registers, operat or participat gay clubs, societi and anisatn, or directly or directly mak public show of same sex amoro relatnship Nigeria ms an offence and is liable on nvictn to a term of 10 years imprisonment. “A person or group of persons who admisters, wns, abets or aids the solemnizatn of a same sex marriage or civil unn, or supports the registratn, operatn and stenance of gay clubs, societi, anisatns, procsns or meetgs Nigeria ms an offence and is liable on nvictn to a term of 10 years imprisonment.

‘I WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO COME OUT AS GAY ON LIVE TV NIGERIA’

The Nigerian ambassador noted that Nigeria rejected unrervedly same-sex marriage, lbians, and gays s populatn and that Nigeria had a duty to protect fay valu, relig and cultural valu which are the bedrock of society. The Bill also prohibs the registratn of Gay Clubs, Societi and Organisatns, their stenance, procsn and meetg as well as public show of Same sex amoro relatnship directly or directly [R2.

In April 2006, proposed legislatn to crimalize same-sex unns and GLBTI anisatns, was expand to clu people who celebrate or support same-sex unns, imposg five years imprisonment for “those who vlate the proposed law, cludg those who wns, celebrate wh or support upl volved [a] homosexual relatnship” [R1. In April 2006, proposed legislatn to crimalize same-sex unns and GLBTI anisatns, was expand to clu people who celebrate or support same-sex unns and rultg far-reachg nsequenc not only for gays and lbians, but anyone who eely associat wh them [R1. Sce 2000, over a dozen Nigerians have been sentenced to ath for sexual offenc cludg homosexualy and adultery sce Sharia law was troduced northern Nigeria, though most sentenc were muted to prison terms [R1.

999 Ikorodu Road/Toy Close, Weigh Bridge, Owo Onir, Lagos, the Lagos Magisterial District, did engage gay activi by permtg male persons to have nal knowledge of themselv agast the orr of nature and thereby mted an offence punishable unr Sectn 261 of the Crimal Law of Lagos State, 2015”. On 28 December 2016, Chief Magistrat Mrs MC Ojobo the Oredo Magistrat’ Court the Edo State pal Ben reportedly orred the remand of two men, Pl Frank, 31, and Ejimofor Christian, 22, for allegedly engagg homosexual rnal knowledge of each other [R3. On 24 November 2016, a magistrat urt Damatu reportedly sentenced four persons, Ali Sherif, 30, Yuf Maila, 45, Sule Hassan, 32 and Mtapha Usman, 23, to seven years prison followg their nvictn on charg of homosexualy [R3.

MEET THE FIRST MAN TO E OUT AS GAY ON NIGERIAN TELEVISN

On 17 September 2012, Senr Magistrate, Nafisatu Buba, sentenced Btwood Chwuemeka, a 28 year-old actor, rint of Gidan Mangoro, to a three-month term of imprisonment whout an optn of fe, for havg nsexual gay sex wh another man [R3.