Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) strongly urge the Nigerian Senate not to pass the ‘Same Gender Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2011’. On the surface, the Bill appears to limit itself to introducing criminal penalties for marriage ceremonies between persons of the same sex, with a penalty of three years’ imprisonment. However, the Bill’s provisions extend far wider. The bill seeks to criminalise anyone who ‘witnesses’, ‘aids’ or ‘abets’ such a relationship. This means that the bill now criminalises identities, and not merely behaviours. It could also penalise any human rights defenders who would seek to stand up for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people in Nigeria, as well as their friends, families and colleagues. The penalty for those who ‘witness’, ‘abet’ and ‘aid’ a same-sex relationship is five years imprisonment and/or a fine of N2000 for individuals and N50,000 for groups.

Human Rights Watch writes to Goodluck Jonathan, as acting president of Nigeria, urging him to use his time in office to put the protection of human rights at the center of his presidential agenda. Concretely, Jonathan should take meaningful steps to address the impunity that underscores so many of Nigeria's very pressing human rights problems, including endemic corruption, inter-communal violence, abuses by state security forces, and the crisis in the Niger Delta.

Human Rights Watch writes to Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua at the midway point of his term in office to express concern about the slow rate of progress, and indeed significant setbacks, in addressing crucial human rights problems in Nigeria under his administration.

Human Rights Watch writes to urge President Köhler to use his forthcoming visit to Nigeria to raise specific human rights concerns with President Umaru Yar'Adua and his administration. Serious problems include rampant government corruption and mismanagement that undermine the realization of the right to basic healthcare and education; political and intercommunal violence fomented by government officials and politicians; and widespread use of extrajudicial executions, torture, and extortion by state security forces.