The Islamic Forum of Nigeria has rejected the Samoa agreement, just as the forum has urged the federal government to withdraw from the agreement.
The forum warned that the federal government entered into Samoa agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific states without the consent of Nigerians, hence, the rejection.
The decision of the forum was made public at the end of a meeting held in Kano.
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Professor Shuaibu Zunnurain said though the LGBTQ+ is not explicitly written in the Samoa agreement, Gay and homosexual rights were enshrined using other terms.
The law professor said the 2018 agreement which had protection of the rights of Gay, Lesbian and transgender was rejected by 30 countries including Nigeria.
He said though the LGBTQ were removed in the new draft, terms like gender, reproductive rights were actually meant to protect LGBTQ+ and abortion rights.
He said framers of the 1999 constitution were sensitive enough to use the term sex instead of gender in section 42 dealing with non discrimination against person on account of his sex, ethnicity or religion.
He said the Samoa agreement has, for example, a provision that says ‘the parties reaffirms commitment to achieving gender equality,the full enjoyment of human rights by all’ and that the agreement shall take precedence over national or domestic laws.
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Also speaking at the meeting, Professor Babangida Muhammad said for a long time in Nigeria’s history, Muslims, Christians, North, South and people from across political divide were united against Samoa agreement.
He faulted the Samoa agreement for no concise definition of terms as is usually the case in any law, agreement or academic publication .
Professor Aminu Sagagi advised parents to be vigilant and take more than keen interest in what their children watch on social media saying the + sign in LGBTQ+ could mean something fundamentally contrary to morality, religion, culture and tradition.
The immediate past chairman of Christians Association of Nigeria CAN, Kano state chapter Reverend Father Adeyemo Samuel said there is no where in the Bible that God allows Gay, Lesbian.
“Any man that sleeps with a man should be stoned to death immediately,” the cleric said.
While calling on the meeting to say no to the agreement, Samuel said Gender equality also stands for lesbianism and homosexuality.
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A lecturer with Bayero University Kano Dr. Bala Muhammad recalled how Reverend Idowu Fearon as secretary of Anglican church rejected the ordination of a gay Bishop in London, saying Exit clause in agreement like Samoa may make it difficult for countries to leave.
The meeting called on Nigerian government to withdraw from the agreement because it is in conflict with political, economic, religious and cultural rights of Nigerian.
