President Muhammadu Buhari immediately shut down a question about same-sex marriage in Nigeria during a session yesterday with US Congress members in Washington, DC. According to his spokesman Femi Adesina, President Buhari was “point blank” with the American lawmakers.
President Muhammadu Buhari immediately shut down a question about same-sex marriage in Nigeria during a session yesterday with US Congress members in Washington, DC. According to his spokesman Femi Adesina, President Buhari was “point blank” with the American lawmakers.
“Sodomy is against the law in Nigeria, and abhorrent to our culture,” Mr. Adesina said in a tweet on Wednesday.
“Talks shifted to another matter once PMB [President Muhammadu Buhari] emphatically stated Nigeria’s stand on same sex marriage. The issue was not pushed,” Mr. Adesina said in another tweet.
The exchange took place in a joint session with some members of both the Senate and House of Representatives committees on foreign affairs. According to a high-ranking staffer on Capitol Hill, only select members of the committees were invited to the meetings with President Buhari.
Nigeria’s current laws prohibit same-sex marriage and punish violators with up to 14 years in prison.
The Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced last week that the US has incorporated gay marriage into its foreign policy since it was legalized nationwide in June.
