Elnathan John- The Dark Corner: LEGAL OPINION: IS LESBIANISM A ...

However this question became relevant for me after reading a tweet from a popular service on Twitter which claimed that while male homosexuality was outlawed in secular Nigeria, lesbianism was not. I followed the link in that tweet to the source of the information and found the websitehttp://www.ilga.org hosted by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans And Intersex Association. The site claimed that lesbianism was legal in some areas in Nigeria and in their 2010 report on State sponsored homophobia, in the section on Nigeria, on page 17, the report began with the conclusion that lesbianism is legal in Nigeria.

After looking again at our laws and decisions, I felt that this, respectfully, was hardly the position. I will discuss briefly what in my opinion the position of our law is.

While Nigerian law does not expressly mention lesbianism, its proscription of all forms of same sex relations is clear in both statute and case law.

The Criminal Code Act Chapter 77, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 in Section 214 makes a criminal:

Any person who-

(1)has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature

The word used in the Criminal Code is not male or man. It is PERSON. Person has been interpreted to mean, male or female individual. I am certain, that if a case of lesbianism had ever been put to the courts, they would interpret it to include lesbianism. The fact is no single case of lesbianism to my knowledge has ever been successfully prosecuted in Nigerian secular courts. However the law is clear. It says any person who has carnal knowledge against the order of nature. The law is so broad as to enable a lesbian conviction.

Now the interpretation of 'against the order of nature? was done in the case of Magaji vs The Nigerian Army.(2008) 2-3 S.C. 32. Justice Niki Tobi then of the Supreme Court said:

While carnal knowledge is an old legal euphemism for sexual intercourse with a woman, it acquires a different meaning in section 81. The... meaning comes to light when taken along with the proximate words "against the order of nature". The order of nature is carnal knowledge with the female sex. Carnal knowledge with the male sex is against the order of nature and here, nature should mean God and not just the generic universe that exists independently of mankind or people

Clearly our courts have interpreted the order of nature to mean, a man having sexual relations with a woman. Thus it is clear that they will interpret lesbianism to be 'against the order of nature'. Again one might say that the learned justice defines it in terms of two men. But this is only because all the matters that have come before the courts are cases involving males. A look at section 14 of the Nigerian statute of interpretation provides a final answer. The Interpretation Act, Chapter 192, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 in section 14 says:

(a)In an enactment-

words importing the masculine gender include females;

So even if the law had spoken of males, it would necessarily include females. It is therefore legally incorrect to say that lesbianism is legal in Nigeria.

Apart from this however, the attitude of Nigerians toward homosexuality in general is worse than any sanctions the law can impose. In fact I saw clearly the view in the opening words of Justice Niki Tobi in Magaji vs The Nigerian Army. (supra). The learned justice with all due respect clearly showed his PERSONAL attitude which I will term homophobia with the words:

This appeal involves the beastly, barbaric and bizarre offence of sodomy; a more common place name is homosexual or homosexuality. It is against the appellant, former Major Bello Magaji. He wore Staff No. N/6604 in the Army...

The offence of sodomy is an unusual, abnormal and unbelievable one." "What the appellant decided to do was to dare nature in his craze for immoral amorphous satisfaction. By his conduct, the appellant reordered God's creation. Has he got the power to do that? No. No human being, whether in the military or not, has the power to re-order God's creation.

One gets the idea that there can probably be no fair hearing for someone accused of homosexuality before Nigerian courts. It is fair to say that this represents the opinion of the vast majority of Nigerians. However one wonders how this stance fares in the face of the constitutional provision that forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, place of origin, religion or political opinion and in the light of Human Rights issues especially as couched in international declarations of human rights to which Nigeria is signatory.

Source: http://elnathanjohn.blogspot.com/2011/05/legal-opinion-is-lesbianism-crime-under.html

news and observer safari bristol palin bill of rights hud possession jetman