The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)says Nigeria does not recognize same-sex marriage, amidst the recent controversy surrounding the Samoa agreement.

The NBA, in a statement signed by its president, Yakubu Maikyau, said contrary to widespread belief, the agreement does not require Nigeria to accept LGBTQ or gay rights as a condition for a $150 billion loan.

On June 28, 2024, Nigeria signed the Samoa Agreement at the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.

“The agreement explicitly respects the local laws and sovereignty of the contracting nations. This means the Samoa agreement acknowledges Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2023, and the supremacy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended),” The statement said.

The NBA stressed that if the agreement had mandated Nigeria to accept LGBTQ rights, it would have advised the Federal Government against entering into any partnership that could undermine national sovereignty.

“Before signing the Samoa agreement, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning consulted the NBA. Consequently, I formed a committee, chaired by Olawale Fapohunda (SAN), former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Ekiti State, and Chairman of the NBA Law Reform Committee, to review and advise on the agreement.”

The Samoa Agreement, named after the South Pacific country where it was signed, is a comprehensive legal framework between European Union (EU) member-states and more than half of the members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).

It provides a basis for future specific agreements between the EU and the Federal Government, its sub-national entities, and the private sector.

The agreement addresses six main areas: democracy and human rights, sustainable economic growth and development, climate change, human and social development, peace and security, as well as migration and mobility.

On July 6, the federal government said it would use every lawful means to seek redress in court over a report by Daily Trust newspaper accusing the government of signing the Samoa Agreement to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights.

Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, described the report as “despicable and wicked” because the allegation was “nowhere in the document signed”.

The Federal Government has continued to insist that the Samoa Agreement signed by Nigeria at the OACPS Secretariat in Brussels is in the interest of the country.

Writing by Oluwaseyi Ajibade

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *