July 2, 2013 | Sex & Society

Nigeria's new law seeks to 'jail all gays'

Nigeria's ‘Jail All the Gays Bill’ has been approved by the country's Senate and House of Representatives, and only needs a signature from President Goodluck Jonathan to become law.

The legislation would allow the government to round up anyone who is openly gay and imprison them for 10 years. Individuals who know a homosexual and do not report them to the authorities will face up to five years in jail, as well.

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has spoken out against the bill, arguing that it not only violates Nigeria’s own equality legislation, but also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"I am very concerned that the rights of LGBT people, the sexual orientation rights, are being violated, that they are subjected to discrimination," she said.

"The president might want to sign it to please the religious leaders on a purely political basis but, like the parliament, the president would be doing a great damage to his credibility if they do sign this kind of bill," argued Davis Mac-Iyalla, former director of Changing Attitude Nigeria, a pro-gay group.

He added that the majority of Nigerians don't want the bill passed, but that it is being used to distract people from the real issues facing the country.

UN says Nigeria's 'Jail All the Gays Bill' breaks international law [Gay Star News]