MURIC stated that it would not be the first group in Nigeria to express fear over the recently signed partnership agreement between the European Union and Africa-Caribbean and Pacific countries (EU-ACP), of which Nigeria is a member of the ACP.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), an Islamic group, has asked President Bola Tinubu to shun the “LGBT accord which will legalise lesbianism, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) in Nigeria”.
Quoting from the Bible in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-27, MURIC warned the Nigerian government not to sign the “unholy” law.
MURIC on Saturday said this in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Prof Ishaq Akintola, while noting that Western countries under the aegis of the EU-ACP have been putting Nigeria under pressure to join countries that legalise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) relationships.
“This has always been the goal of globalisation from the onset. We reject this concept. It is evil, immoral, luciferous and abominable. It is also against the order of nature. Allah created all in pairs of the opposite sex. How can life continue if we turn it to same sex?
“Any agreement signed with the LGBT group will contravene Nigeria’s Anti-Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2013. This law was designed to protect morality and sanity in the Nigerian society. We endorse this law and we assert that it must remain sacrosanct.
“Prophet Lut (peace be upon him) clearly condemned homosexualism when he said, ‘Do you lustfully approach men instead of women? No, you are an ignorant people’ (Glorious Qur’an 27:56). He also said, ‘You approach the men of all creatures and you leave your wives whom your Lord created for you’ (26:166-167).
“It was for this satanic act that Allah destroyed the people of Lut in Sodom and Gomorrah. ‘When Our command came, we turned that city upside down and rained layer upon layer of clay on it’ (Glorious Qur’an 11:83).
“Neither does the Bible endorse lesbianism and homosexuality. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says homosexuality will prevent those who engage in it from entering the kingdom of God. Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 29:13 affirm that it is an abomination for a man to lie with another man as he would with a woman. Paul the apostle said homosexuality results from a rejection of God (Romans 1:26-27).
“Homosexuality is straight from the pit of hell as far as Nigerian traditional practices are concerned. Nothing like it has surfaced in our history. Our ancestors were conscious of an Almighty Creator who arranged nature with divine wisdom, pairing masculine with feminine. They never permitted any pollution or deviation.”
MURIC stated that it would not be the first group in Nigeria to express fear over the recently signed partnership agreement between the European Union and Africa-Caribbean and Pacific countries (EU-ACP), of which Nigeria is a member of the ACP.
It stated that a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had cautioned the Nigerian government against signing the agreement, stressing that the Coalition had warned that if ACP governments agreed to sign the agreement it would be a disaster as it was a pact aimed at legalising LGBT in their nations.
“But in a statement by the spokesperson of the Foreign ministry, Mrs. Francisca Omayuli, the Federal Government explained that Nigeria was not present at the signing of the agreement which is also known as the Samoa Agreement.
“The statement said Nigerian stakeholders were still studying the agreement. “Relevant Nigerian stakeholders are studying the instrument with a view to ensuring that its provisions do not contravene Nigeria’s domestic legislation after government’s attention had been drawn to diverse pronouncements and publications on the implication of Nigeria’s signature,” MURIC stated.
MURIC quoted Omayuli as saying that “The Samoa Agreement covers six key priority areas of Human Rights, Democracy and Governance; Peace and Security; Human and Social Development; Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change; Inclusive Sustainable Economic Growth; and Development, Migration and Mobility.
“The Agreement supersedes and replaces the Cotonou Agreement (2000), which in turn was preceded by several other agreements aimed at bolstering relations between the OACPS and EU.”