The Federal Government has told the United Nations that it would not repeal the anti-gay marriage law in the country.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Mohammed Bello Adoke, made the statement yesterday while receiving a delegation from the United Nations, led by its High Commissioner on Human Rights, Navi Pillay.
“I wish to re-emphasise that our laws do not criminalise individual sexual orientation,” he said. “The focus of the Act is, therefore, the discouragement of same-sex marriage which is a reflection of the overwhelming beliefs and cultural values of the Nigerian people as demonstrated by a 2013 Opinion Poll, which showed that 92 per cent of Nigerians reject same-sex marriage.”
“I can make bold to say that if the government had not taken the pragmatic step to put in place the punitive mechanism to this conduct,” he added, “perhaps the vast majority of the people would have taken laws into their hands and it will be more harmful for people with same sex sexual orientation.”
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