Legal practitioner Inibehe Effiong has criticized claims that the Samao Agreement has no connection to LGBTQ issues, calling such assertions “intellectual duplicity.” Effiong made these remarks during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday.
Effiong pointed out that Article 15 of the Samao Agreement prohibits discrimination or violence based on gender, political orientation, and sexual orientation. “This indirectly includes LGBTQ,” he said.
Effiong explained that under Section 12 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, treaties do not have the force of law unless enacted by the National Assembly. “Nigeria is expected to comply with international treaties and agreements to the extent that they are enforceable,” he said.
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He argued that the Federal Government’s dismissal of the Samao Agreement’s relevance to LGBTQ issues is misleading. “I beg to differ to an extent that if you look at Article 15 of that agreement, there is a very interesting language. It prohibits discrimination or violence based on gender, political orientation, and sexual orientation. Social orientation includes LGBTQ,” Effiong noted.
Effiong concluded by emphasizing the importance of acknowledging the connection between the Samao Agreement and LGBTQ rights. “I think it amounts to intellectual duplicity to say that the Samao Agreement has nothing to do with LGBTQ,” he said. “The argument should have been whether being a signatory to this agreement will supersede the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act.”