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| Nigeria AG & Minister Of Justice,Bello |
The Federal Government has told the United Nations that there is “no going back” on the anti-gay marriage law in the country.
While receiving the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, Madam Navi Pillay, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, also said that by the political structure of the country, death penalty is within the jurisdiction of the various state governments.
Adoke also added that Section 33 (1) of the Constitution provides that every person has a right to life and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in the execution of a sentence of a court in criminal matters.
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| UN Chief |
“As the leader of government delegation to the Human Rights Council review of Nigeria under the Universal Periodic review mechanism in October last year, I observed that most of the Council Members expressed concerns on the death penalty in Nigeria and also the passage of the Same-sex Prohibition Law which has since been assented to by the President.
“I must, however, observe that the ECOWAS Court of Justice has recently granted an injunction restraining the Nigerian government from carrying out the execution of condemned persons and directing the government to continue to abide by its commitment to the Moratorium against the death penalty. We shall respect this order by the court, even as we continue with our national dialogue on the abolition or retention of the penalty,” Adoke said.
“I wish to re-emphasise that our laws do not criminalise individual sexual orientation. The focus of the Act is, therefore, 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,” he stated emphatically.
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