President Goodluck Jonathan has pitched his tent with the majority of Nigerians as he has signed into law the anti-gay bill. The law kicks against same sex marriages and relationships in the country with penalties of up to 14 years imprisonment.
President Jonathan faced an intense Western lobby which pressured him to abandon the laws. Nigerian cultural and religious values do not permit the practice of homosexuality. Traditionally it was also frowned upon in Western societies but modern laxity and abandonment of traditional values have allowed for the explosion of gay attitudes in places like America and the United Kingdom.
“I can confirm that the president has signed the bill into law,” Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesman Reuben Abati told AFP, without specifying a date but adding that it happened earlier this month.
“More than 90 percent of Nigerians are opposed to same sex marriage. So, the law is in line with our cultural and religious beliefs as a people,” he added.
“And I think that this law is made for a people and what (the) government has done is consistent with the preference of its environment.”
“Only a marriage contract between a man and a woman shall be recognised as valid in Nigeria,” the law states.
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