Yesterday,The Nigerian Senate passed a bill prohibiting same-sex marriage. Termed Same-Sex Prohibition Bill, it stipulates a 10-year jail term for offenders.
Announcing the passage of the bill, Senate president David Mark said that marriage between same sexes is alien to the Nigerian tradition and against all religious morals.
Senators had last month vowed to pass the law, since according to them it is a taboo.
Speaking during the public hearing on the bill on October 31, Senate President David Mark rejected the proposal saying, “my faith as a Christian abhors it. It is incomprehensible to contemplate same sex marriage. I cannot understand it. I cannot be a party to it. There are enough men and women to marry each other. The whole idea is the importation of foreign culture but this one would be a freedom too many. We cannot allow our tradition and value system to be eroded.”
He had added also then that, “It is offensive. It is repugnant. I will preach against it and we must stand up to reject same sex marriages in Nigeria.”
However, a self-confessed lesbian, who gave her name as Dr. Obiowu and spoke on behalf of Nigerians in Diaspora against anti-sex laws, had described the move to outlaw same sex marriage as a gross violation of their fundamental human rights.
She said lesbians and others deserved to be allowed to live their lives since Nigeria is a secular state saying, “Fundamental human rights of sexual minorities are violated because of criminalisation of same sex marriage”.
“If we are all same sex how do we produce human beings who have human rights?” asked Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (PDP, Cross Rivers Central).