This write up was inspired by an incident between a lady and a Taxify driver in Lagos State.
A Twitter user, Juicy J shared her experience with a Taxify driver in Lagos. According to her, she was left in shock after her Tips were squeezed by the driver when she told him she’s a lesbian. This transpired during a sexual orientation discussion after the passenger admitted being a lesbian. She expressed intolerability of the purported act and called on the Nigerian police and Taxify management to arrest suspet. The suspect was arrested and will be charged with sexual assault.

However most Nigerians have castigated her for being a lesbian and are of the opinion that she ought to be arrested for being a lesbian instead of the Taxify driver who assaulted her sexually.
I think they are not properly guided vis a vis anti gay law in Nigeria.
The average Nigerian out there thinks that having the sexual orientation of being gay or lesbian is a crime and therefore those with such sexual orientations should be arrested and prosecuted forthwith like in the case above .
It is pertinent to note that the only Act we have in Nigeria with respect to gay marriages and activities is the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013 which was enacted during President Goodluck Jonathan's Administration and since then no amendments have been made. This Act does not criminalise gay or lesbian sexual orientation.
What does this Act criminalise or prohibit?


S. 1 (1) of Same sex marriage prohibition Act provides that a marriage contract or civil union entered into between persons of same sex
(a) is prohibited in Nigeria,
(b) shall not be recognised as entitled to benefits of a valid marriage.

S. S 4 (1) of the Act provides that;
The registration of gay clubs, societies and organizations, their sustenance, procession and meetings is prohibited.
(2) The PUBLIC show of same sex amorous relationship directly or indirectly is prohibited.

Section 5 of the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act provided for the offences and punishment in relation to gay marriage, clubs and public amoral relationships.
(1) a person who enters into same sex marriage contract or civil union commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 14 years imprisonment.

(2)a person who registers,operates or participates in gay clubs, societies and organizations or directly or indirectly makes public show of same sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offence and is liable on conviction for a term of 10 years imprisonment.
(3) a person or group of persons who administers, witness, aids or abets the solemnisation of a same sex marriage or civil union or supports the registration ,operation and sustenance of gay clubs , societies and organizations, processions or meetings in Nigeria commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years imprisonment.

Special emphasis on "public" show. From the provision of S. 4 (2) it is pertinent to note that what the Act criminalised is public display of same sex amorous relationship and is silent on private same sex amorous relationship.
There is no provision in this Act on sexual orientation also.

CFRN 1999 as amended, S.36(6) provides that subject as otherwise provided by this constitution , a person shall not be convicted for a criminal offence unless that offence is defined and the penalty therefore is prescribed in a written law, and in this subsection a written law refers to an Act of the National Assembly or a law of a state , any subsidiary legislation or instrument under the provisions of a law.

It is clear from the section above that the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act does not criminalise private display of same sex amorous relationship and hence cannot penalise those indulging in same same amorous relationship in the confines of their homes. Is this a loophole in the Act or is the Act simply respecting the right to privacy as enshrined in CFRN 1999 as amended. S. 39." The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected''.

It is almost impossible to prove private amoral same sex relationship without contravening the right guaranteed in Section 39 of the constitution. Perhaps that is the reason why the same Sex marriage prohibition Act 2013 is silent on that issue.

WHAT IS A PUBLIC PLACE AND PRIVATE PLACE
USLEGAL.COM defines a public place as generally an indoor or outdoor area, whether privately or publicly owned, to which the public have access by right or by invitation, expressed or implied, whether by payment of money or not, but not a place when used exclusively by one or more individuals for a private gathering or other personal purpose.
Generally, a private place refers to a place that is exclusively used by one or more individuals for a private gathering or other personal purpose. It is some place to which the public does not have free access.

From the foregoing, what will determine whether same sex amorous relationship has amounted to a crime or not is whether it was a public display or a private display and the Act only criminalised public display of amorous same sex relationship.
From the implication of the sections above we can reasonably infer that the law restricts same sex amorous relationship to the confines of private homes and expressly prohibits gay marriages which in the first place is what the Act had solely intended to prohibit.
If the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act intends to eradicate same sex relationships then perhaps an amendment should be considered to include private amoral relationships. Then we would start seeing the police breaking into homes or tapping into the conversions and private lives of citizens to prove private amoral relationships in contravention of the constitution of Nigeria which is sacred and sacrosanct.

While some might be of the opinion that gay activities are like any other criminal activities, right to privacy should not be respected and the police can storm and invade private homes on reasonable suspicion of any criminal act.
Whether this is good law is at the discretion of legislators to decide.

In conclusion, it is not an offence or a criminal Act to have a gay sexual orientation and therefore a person cannot arrested for being gay or lesbian as the case may be unless the person has contravened the provisions of Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act.

Cc: Seun, lalasticlala , obinoscopy

https://legalpuzzles./2017/07/29/analysis-of-same-sex-marriage-prohibition-act-2013-and-what-it-truly-prohibits-in-nigeria/

Hmmmm

Lubish post

wawu

Happy birthday dear

EniHolar:
Hmmmm

And the really sad part is that the OP is ABSOLUTELY correct!

Op it is because of our hypocritical nature, it has blinded many ignoramus from researching the truth. Thanks jare, more oblongata to you

TroubleMaker47:
And the really sad part is that the OP is ABSOLUTELY correct!

many ignoramus like the posters above you cannot comprehend.
Like say many guys no go like to dey with lesbians when they are on their acts
Many of these mumu senators wey pass the bill sef go still dey run go do threesomes with these so called lesbians
Hypocrisy at the peak I tell you.

WaleBinSanusi:
Happy birthday dear

Thanks dear