Abstract
The 21st century has experienced a rapid change in the status of sexual minorities; with this new normal having a profound impact in
the global North, in particular. A series of landmark United Nations, regional and national court decisions, inspired by the increasing
effective lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer (LGBTQ) clamour, are progressively announcing the end of institutionalized
discrimination which had been the concerns of homosexual persons for centuries in many part of the world. However, while there has been a statutory shift towards the welcoming of homosexual persons in the West, thus gradually recognizing the injustice synonymous with discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, Nigeria remains less likely to respect sexual minority persons’ rights. The
Nigerian LGBTQ experience exemplifies the regressive position in many African states. Not only have laws been enacted that criminalizes consensual modern forms of sexuality in Nigeria; existing laws have in 2014 been strengthened by newer, ever more
stringent anti-homosexuality legislation. The most notable is the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, SSMPA 2014. The article takes a holistic view of the major cultural, religious and moral arguments of sexual minority rights in their efforts to justify the continued discrimination of homosexual persons and adult same-sex consensual sexual conduct in Nigeria. The article aims to contest the validity of these arguments by presenting a case for the decriminalization of homosexual acts in Nigeria through such instruments as judicial intervention, legislative enactment, executive action and sexual minorities’ rights activism.
Key Words: Homosexuality, Sexuality, Sexual Minority, LGBTQ, Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act.
