A spokesman of the Nigerian police on Friday warned a media platform that publishing content that aids lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, and pansexual (LGBTQ+) community is offensive.
The Nigerian media platform celebrated ‘two love birds’ who are the same sex in a tweet on its X page with more than three million followers on Friday.
Nigerians are over the moon as two stylish-love-birds tie the knot pic.twitter.com/gQOLLf39Y9
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) November 10, 2023
Bright Edafe, a spokesman for the police in Delta State, South-South Nigeria, said the post by the media is ‘aiding and abetting’ same-sex marriage in Nigeria.
@instablog9ja do you know promoting, aiding and abetting same sex marriage in Nigeria is an offense? Una just start this one recently. Read same sax marriage prohibition act 2013 and learn. NIGERIANS ARE OVER THE MOON MY FOOT https://t.co/rg707gVzQP
— DSP Bright Edafe PPRO DELTA STATE (@Brightgoldenboy) November 10, 2023
The tweet Edafe reacted to was a repost of an original tweet by an X account with username @AdvanceSimango whose location shows the user is located in Cape Town South Africa.
We got married. pic.twitter.com/Z0tEwFu8Jh
— Nehemiah Advance (@AdvanceSimango) November 9, 2023
South Africa is one of the seven African countries along with Angola, Botswana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Lesotho and Seychelles to legalise same sex marriage.
READ ALSO: Nigerian lawmakers want textbook ‘Queen Primer’ banned for pro-LGBTQ+ contents
Nigeria, on the hand, prohibits same sex marriage and all other activities that promotes LGBTQ+ relations.
Since 2013, persons found culpable in violation of the same-sex marriage prohibition act signed by former President Goodluck Jonathan risk up to 10 years imprisonment.
The law imposes the sentence on anyone who “registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organization” or “supports” the activities of such organizations. Punishments are severe, ranging from 10 to 14 years in prison.
Nigerian authorities have been consistent on their stance on LGBTQ+ activities since the legislation.
Recently, Nigeria’s House of Representatives had a legislative session to ban the use of English textbook Queen Primer in schools.
The lawmakers said the book contained words like “gay”, and “eros” and that there is a covert attempt to slip books with “immoral culture” into primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.
They said it subtly introduces “sexual perversion and immoral behaviours” that are “unlawful, unethical, highly immoral and antithetical”.
