January 16, 2014 | Sex & Society

Witch hunt for gays begins in Nigeria

Wasting little time, authorities in Nigeria have started aggressively rounding up homosexuals since a new anti-gay bill was signed into law last week.

Calling the new legislation a "welcome development," the head of the Muslim city of Hisbah, Usman Nabahani, said the government would "work tirelessly toward the enforcement of this law by the special grace of God."

"Obviously, we will embark on similar raids on gays and lesbians in Kano," he added, vowing to work "From now on, we will go into every nook and corner of Kano state to ensure that (the prohibition of) prostitution, gay marriages, marriages of the same sex and consumption of alcohol... is fully complied with, so that we can have a decent society....We are given more power, we are given more support now to wage serious war against these issues."

Eleven men are currently on trial before an Islamic court. If found guilty of homosexuality, they face the death penalty. Those facing trials in Christian dominated regions of the south, where American Evangelicals have been pushing their version of the Christian faith, now face up to 14 years in prison just for gathering in a group.

Sadly, things are sure to get worse before they get any better.

Nigerian Sharia enforcers emboldened by anti-gay marriage law [Google News]

Nigeria Islamic court tries gay suspects in Bauchi [BBC News]