Police Disrupt Gay Wedding in Abuja
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Residents of Jiwa, a satellite community in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), were recently thrown into confusion when the news of a botched gay marriage reverberated in the area.
“Nigeria is our country and every citizen shall be governed by the law of the country. A country without laws becomes a society without values but where there is law; definitely punishment awaits offenders. Our country deserves to be respected and honored by abiding with her rules and regulations as one of our civic responsibilities. This is a well done job from the Federal Capital Territory police command and a warning sign to others that this is the law and we all must abide by the law.”
The pictured above is showing a gay couple whose wedding was disrupted by police in Abuja last Saturday, 6/02/2016. The wedding between Abdul Lawal (right) who is supposed to be the husband and Umar Tahir (left) the wife, was supposed to hold at a popular hotel in Jiwa Community of Abuja, King’s Land Hotel in Abuja. Acting on a tip off, the police laid siege at the venue of the wedding.
Guests had started arriving at the venue for the wedding which was well decorated and as soon as the bride and groom from Kaduna state arrived, they were immediately apprehended and taken to the Gwagwalada Police Station where they were detained.
Eyewitnesses say that other people, including the sponsors of the wedding, chairman of the occasion and the owner of the hotel were also arrested during the raid.
The sponsors of the marriage were named as Abubakar Tahir and Mohammed Sani.
Investigation is still going on by the policemen as they have promised that they will be punished based on the provisions of the same-sex prohibition act signed into law in 2013.
It would be recalled that on January 7, 2014, former President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law the Bill which outlaws same sex marriage. The signed bill says the gays; lesbians in Nigeria will risk a 14-year jail term if they do not retrace their steps and renounce such marriage. Also, any person who operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations directly or indirectly will earn a 10-year imprisonment. Those who administer, witness, abet or aid the solemnisation of a same sex marriage are going to bag a 10-year jail term.
The Nigerian Senate had previously passed the bill in November 2011, while lawmakers in Nigeria’s House of Representatives affirmed the decision by the Senate on May 29, 2013. According to some abstracts, obtained by the Act reads: “A marriage contract or civil union entered into between persons of same sex: (a) is prohibited in Nigeria; and (b) shall not be recognised as entitled to the benefits of a valid marriage.
“A marriage contract or civil union entered into between persons of same sex by virtue of a certificate issued by a foreign country is void in Nigeria, and any benefit accruing there-from by virtue of the certificate shall not be enforced by any court of law. “A marriage contract or civil union entered into between persons of same sex shall not be sole nixed in a church, mosque or any other place of worship of Nigeria. “No certificate issued to persons of same sex in a marriage or civil union shall be valid in Nigeria. Only a marriage contracted between a man and a woman shall be recognised as valid in Nigeria.
“The registration of gay clubs, societies and organisations, their sustenance, processions and meetings is prohibited. “The public show of same sex amorous relationship directly or indirectly is prohibited. ”The Act also stipulates the volume of the sanctions awaiting the violators of the new law. “A person who enters into a same sex marriage contract or civil union commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 14 years imprisonment. “A person, who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organisations directly or indirectly makes public show of same sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years imprisonment.
“A person or group of persons who administers, witnesses, abets or aids the solemnisation of a same sex marriage or civil union or supports the registration, operation and sustenance of gay clubs, societies, organisations, processions or meetings in Nigeria commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years imprisonment. “The High Court of a State or of the Federal Capital Territory shall have jurisdiction to entertain matters raiding from the breach of the provisions of this Act.”
Under existing Nigerian federal law, sodomy is punishable by jail, but this bill legislates for a much broader crackdown on homosexuals and lesbians, who already live a largely underground existence. Homosexual acts are still a crime in 38 African countries, where most people hold conservative religious views.
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