CHANGING ATTITUDE NIGERIA NEWS

Further news about the arrest of 18 gay men in Bauchi, Nigeria

Saturday, 18 August 2007

Changing Attitude has received further information about the arrest of 18 gay men in Bauchi. The number of men arrested in total was 18, of whom 13 are Moslems and 5 are Christians, 3 of the Christians Anglicans and 2 from another denomination. All five are members of the Changing Attitude Nigeria (CAN) group in Jos.

The confusion about Christians being tried in an Islamic court under Sharia law is the responsibility of the original report from a Nigerian news agency, which reported that all 18 had been taken to a Sharia court and assumed that all 18 were Moslems. We can now confirm that they were not taken to an Islamic court but to a civil court.

The Christians have been bailed in the sum of 25,000 naira (approximately £90) to appear in court on Tuesday 21 August. The parents of one of the young men arrested paid the bail money to release him. The other four Christians were released when the Moslems contributed money to the amount partly raised by friends and partly borrowed from a money lender.

The men were not attending a gay wedding as the original press report claimed. They had come together for a party.

One of the Changing Attitude leaders in Port Harcourt reports that leaving his house to attend work has become extremely dangerous as a result of the constant violence and shooting in the are surrounding his house. Members of Changing Attitude Nigeria are increasingly frightened because conversation between people on the street and in church is about the arrest of the gay men in Bauchi. People are recognising the reality that there may well be gay men and lesbians living in their own community. CAN members fear that a witch hunt may begin in their own locality as a result.

Changing Attitude England and Nigeria continue to work together to provide updated and accurate information about events affecting LGBT Anglicans in Nigeria.

Telephone 01380 724908
E-mail office@changingattitude.org

This page was last updated on Monday, 18 August 2008