Nigeria rejects US proposal to drop anti-gay law
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. (Getty/ AFP/ BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI)
The Nigerian President apparently this week “flatly rejected” calls from the US to reverse his country’s anti-gay law.
President Muhammadu Buhari is in the US for four days at the invitation of President Barack Obama.
According to a spokesman for the Nigerian President, Femi Adesina, American officials broached the subject during the trip.
Tweeting on Wednesday, Adesina said: “The issue of gay marriage came up here yesterday. PMB [Buhari] was point blank. Sodomy is against the law in Nigeria, and abhorrent to our culture.
“The same sex marriage issue came up at the joint session of Senate and House Committees on Foreign Affairs, not in direct talks with Obama.
“Talks shifted to another matter once PMB emphatically stated Nigeria’s stand on same sex marriage. The issue was not pushed.”
Former Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan signed the controversial Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill in January 2014, meaning those who enter into a same-sex marriage or civil union face a 14-year prison sentence.
In addition, it is an offence to take part in or witness a same-sex marriage ceremony.
The strict law also forbids people from running gay clubs, societies, processions or meetings in Nigeria. The punishment for such acts is 10 years in prison.
