A Sharia Court in Ningi, Nigeria after hearing witness statements as well as the confessions of all three men have sentenced them to death by stoning for being gay.
The men, aged 20, 30, and 70 were sentenced by Judge Munka’ilu Sabo Ningi, under provision 134 of Bauchi State Penal Law of 2001 and Fiquhussunah Jizu’i number 2. and were detained by members of the Hisbah Vanguard in June.
Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Nigeria. The maximum punishment in the 12 northern states that have adopted Shari’a law is death by stoning.
In 2006 the Nigerian ambassador to the United Nations, Joseph Ayalogu, stated, “The notion that executions for offences such as homosexuality and lesbianism [are] … excessive is judgemental rather than objective. What may be seen by some as disproportional penalty in such serious offences and odious conduct may be seen by others as appropriate and just punishment“
TRIVIA: Nigeria receives an average of $675,859,666 in foreign aid from the US per year.
53 gay men in Nigeria have been arrested for attending an unofficial same-sex wedding, though the accused’s lawyers say they were actually at a birthday party.
The arrests happened last Saturday and occurred in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna according to the BBC News..
Gay rights campaigners who have been in touch with people involved in the case told the BBC’s Stephanie Hegarty in Lagos the accused were arrested at a birthday party, not a wedding.. The men were also illegally detained for 24 hours, according to the attorney.
Maria Sjodin, deputy executive director of LGBTQ advocacy group OutRight Action International, said she believes the gay wedding story is just an “excuse” and part of the police’s attempt to “crackdown on an emerging LGBTQ movement” in Nigeria.
“Only the police claim that it was a wedding party,” she told NBC Out, adding that sources in Nigeria told her organization the event was “actually a birthday party.”
“The police are using the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act as an excuse for mass arrests, maybe even as a way to get bribes,” Sjodin said. “The Nigerian law is much more far reaching than just same-sex marriage, it really is a way to crack down on anyone advocating for human rights of LGBT people.”
The men are charged with conspiracy, unlawful assembly, and belonging to an unlawful society. Their court date is scheduled for May 8.
Homosexual acts are banned in socially conservative Nigeria and are punishable by up to 14 years in jail.
The U.S. Government has given a total of $327,992 to Nigeria in 2017.
The Associated Press is reporting a wave of brutal beatings of gay men in the anti-gay country of Nigeria where armed mobs are dragging the victims out of their homes and into the streets.
A mob armed with wooden clubs and iron bars, screaming that they were going to “cleanse” their neighborhood of gay people, dragged 14 young men from their beds and assaulted them, human rights activists said Saturday.
Four of the victims were marched to a police station, where they allegedly were kicked and punched by police officers who yelled pejoratives at them, said Ifeanyi Orazulike (pictured) of the International Center on Advocacy for the Right to Health.
Police threatened that the men would be incarcerated for 14 years, he said, the maximum prison sentence under Nigeria’s new Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, dubbed the “Jail the Gays” law.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has also received reports that approximately 10 men, perceived to be gay, were beaten by a mob of some 40 persons in the community of Geshiri near Abuja last night or early this morning. The local police reportedly arrested 5 of the victims of the attack and later released them. Most of the men suffered injuries from the attack and are now in hiding.
Yesterday Nigeria’s President Jonathan Goodluck signed a law mandating 14 years prison time for anyone entered into a same-sex marriage or civil union and 10 years in prison for anyone who participates or operates a gay club or organization, or shows any indication that they are in a same-sex relationship.
Dorothy Aken’Ova is executive director of Nigeria’s International Center for Reproductive Health and Sexual Rights. She said Tuesday the new law, already being dubbed the “Jail the Gays” law, will endanger and even criminalize programs fighting HIV-AIDS in the gay community.
She said police in Bauchi state have a list of 168 purportedly gay men, of whom 38 have been arrested recently.
Jonathan’s spokesman confirmed Monday he signed the act providing penalties of up to 14 years in jail for same-sex marriage and up to 10 years’ imprisonment for membership or encouragement of gay organizations.
Nigeria receives about 625 Million dollars a year in aid from the United States and is one of most corrupt countries in the world.
The hackivist group ANONYMOUS, took over Nigeria’s official government website last night denouncing its intent to pass a law that would jail LGBT people for up to 14 years and demanding the government end its support of the anti-homosexuality bill.
The hacker, identified on twitter as @PaddyHack, said he took down the website Thursday for several hours, posting a warning to president Goodluck Jonathan:
“Your government has passed a to jail homosexuals in your country for up to 14 years. Nobody should live in fear of being jailed, when their only action is loving another consenting adult, regardless of gender.”
The attack on the website, Nigeria.gov.ng took place in the evening and messages urging the President to overrule the laws were displayed on the site until around 11 pm when the administrators regained control of the site. The hackers protested against the 14-year jail term for homosexuals in Nigeria.
The President was asked to “veto or renounce the bill” within 72 hours. Issuing a threat after, the hackers stated on the website that “failure to follow our order will unleash a torrent of fury aimed directly at the direction of your administration, starting with some startling but unsurprising evidence of corruption in your ranks.”
The hackers also continued with an assurance as the message continued with “no need to start destroying evidence, I already have it.”
A spokesperson of theNigerian ministry, Joseph Mutuah, likened the attack to robbery while the Nigerian press labeled the hacktivist as gay, ‘foreign’ ‘cyber-warlord’, ‘vandal’ who is apparently ‘engaging’ in ‘cyber warfare’ against Nigeria.
In response to the anti-gay media hype, The hacker stated:
“The Nigerian Press are attempting to tarnish the name of the LGBT cause by smearing their name of the latest defacement of their website.
“The deface is a protest against the potential bill that will be passed jailing homosexuals for up to 14 years. Their only ‘crime’ is loving a person of the same gender.
“I am not inspired to do this because I am pro LGBT, I’m not even gay. I am inspired to do this because I am anti hate. Declaring gayness as being a sin is nothing more than hiding hate behind your bibles.
“IF you must follow the bible, just remember Mark 12:31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[a] There is no commandment greater than these.”
BRAVO and THANK YOU to @PaddyHack and to ANONYMOUS!
Will Russia legally ban all things gay? It seems like that’s the direction the European country is headed in once again. It shouldn’t be a surprise unfortunately to many; the country already placed a 100 year ban on any type of gay pride festivities early this year. And with the recent headlines condemnation from the Russian government of pro-gray advocates Pussy Riot and Madonna that have caused a international media firestorm.
Now it seems the Russian government wants to ban anything they see as “gay propaganda”. Here’s a recent radio show which details why the proposed law is called “gay propaganda” so that it will serve as an umbrella clause allowing the government to persecute law breakers for any infraction:
Gavrikov: That’s precisely the problem. For me, the term “propaganda” has exactly the same connotation as the term “anti-Soviet propaganda.” Everything that city authorities think will contradict the general stance of the [ruling United Russia] party — since almost all city officials are members of United Russia — will give them an opportunity to implement this law.This term is being used precisely because it’s vague, in order to bar public activities by certain groups of people. Any public activity that carries the word “gay,” or “lesbians,” or “bisexual” or “transgender” can be interpreted as propaganda — be it an awareness campaign, an opinion poll, or an article posted on our website.
Is the law as extreme as Uganda, the African nation that is in the process of enacting a law permitting officials to put homosexuals to death? Let’s take a look again at the sadistic law in Uganda:
‘Aggravated homosexuality’ is defined as gay acts committed by parents or authority figures, HIV-positive people, pedophiles and repeat offenders. If convicted, they will face the death penalty.
The ‘offense of homosexuality’ includes same-sex sexual acts or being in a gay relationship, and will be prosecuted by life imprisonment.
So no Russia’s proposal isn’t as severe but it is still archaic and very barbaric. But it still isn’t clear how high the penalty will be for those Russian citizens accused of “gay propaganda”. It seems that it will be a variation of the new law proposed in the African nation of Nigeria. What differs is that the proposed law in Russia seems to be based on religious ideology where as Nigeria wants these heinous laws to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS cases:
The spread of HIV in the country is fueled by the growing stigma and discrimination of people, and a legislation as this will only make it more difficult to provide services to our highly productive youth burdened by the epidemic, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity. We humbly implore our law makers to really consider the long term consequences of this bill on the social security of our youth.”
Three laws in three different countries. All disgusting government law proposals for inane and unjustified reasons.
Following the anti-gay footsteps of Uganda, now comes news that the African Nation of Nigeria has proposed a similar law. The bill introduced to Nigerian lawmakers stating that anyone found guilty of homosexual activities/behavior will be sent to jail.
If passed, the bill would give jailtime of 14 years for having a same sex partner. Anyone that shows affection publicly like hand holding or kissing to someone of the same sex would receive a jail sentence of 10 years. And just as disturbing, any allies or advocates, gay or straight, that show open support for LGBT citizens would also face some jail time.
One of the supporters of the bill, Coordinator of the Initiative for Improved Male Health‘s Oliver Anene, stated that this would be a preventitive measure to control and contain the number of HIV/AIDS cases:
The spread of HIV in the country is fueled by the growing stigma and discrimination of people, and a legislation as this will only make it more difficult to provide services to our highly productive youth burdened by the epidemic, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity. We humbly implore our law makers to really consider the long term consequences of this bill on the social security of our youth.”
But Mr. Ifeanyi Orazulike, Executive Director of International Center for Advocacy on Right to Health (ICARH) vehemently disagrees (and rightly so) with the outrageous bill:
“The bill will further drive the populations of sexual minority targeted by civil society organizations with HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention programs underground, with grave consequences on public health.” He added that “HIV/AIDS does not respect any culture, religion, race or political opinion.”
Andre Banks, the Executive Director and co-founder of All Out, the largest global LGBT organization feels like this is an attack on everyone, regardless of sexuality ans fails to address the real issues:
“The ‘Jail the Gays’ bill is an attack on not only gays and lesbians, but on straight Nigerians. Basic freedoms like the freedom to assemble, the freedom to worship as one chooses, and the freedom to love are under attack by the Nigerian government. No one is safe from this dangerous bill — it is a distraction from real problems and must be stopped.”
This is horrible. It makes me really sad to think of the possiblity of people being persecuted because of who they are.
Nigeria’s Senate voted on Tuesday to criminalize gay marriage, instituting prison terms up to 14 years in jail, and witnesses or anyone who helps couples marry could be sentenced to 10 years behind bars.
“Such elements in society should be killed,” Sen. Baba Dati said during the Senate debate.
The bill now heads to Nigeria’s House of Representatives, who have to approve the bill and send it to President Goodluck Jonathan for his signature before it becomes a law.
Nigeria’s new anti-gay law comes in the wake of British Prime Minister David Cameron promise to withhold aid to over 41 states which, according to Cameron, are violating the rights of homosexuals. Malawi, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana are expected to be the first targets of the policy change.
Defiantly Senate President David Mark said Nigeria would not bow to international pressure on any legislation.
“Our values are our values,” Mark said. “No country has a right to interfere in the way we make our laws.”
