A staff of Kano State Hisbah Board, Idris Ahmed Gama, has been apprehended after he expressed an opinion in an interview that the arrest of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) members by the police amounts to a violation of human rights”
The same-sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act 2013 makes it illegal for same-sex individuals to marry, enter into a civil union, or gain entitlement to any benefits of a valid marriage in Nigeria.
Making this known on Tuesday while speaking with the press, the commander general of the Board, Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa, said that the state government has banned any group or association that promotes LGBTQ.
He also disclosed that the agency has clamped down on many groups promoting LGBTQ in the state under the guise of empowerment.
According to him, Kano has distanced itself from any agreement or association that contravenes the Sharia and Nigerian laws that prohibit same-sex marriage.
Daurawa hinted that the Kano State Hisbah Board had apprehended a staff of the agency, Idris Ahmed Gama, whose video went viral on social media supporting a group suspected of promoting LGBTQ in the state.
The commander-general urged the public, religious and traditional leaders, media, and all relevant stakeholders to join the fight against immorality in the state.
However, the apprehended staff, Gama, explained that he was invited to a workshop via WhatsApp on women’s empowerment where a paper was presented on human rights.
He disclosed that after the program, during an interview, he mentioned the LGBTQ acronym without knowing its full meaning.
He denied being a member of any group or association advocating LGBTQ rights, and that he was only invited to a workshop by a group named Women Initiative for Sustainable Empowerment and Equality (WISE).
“I was personally invited and after the program, I was interviewed on how the police arrested LGBTQ members and I said it was a violation of human rights.”
He appealed for leniency and promised not to associate with WISE in the future.
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