Nigeria-EU deal sparks false claims over LGBT rights

LGBT people already live in fear in Nigeria, where same-sex relationships are illegal – now widespread misinformation about a European Union partnership pact has whipped up further hostility towards the community.

The Samoa Agreement - signed by Africa’s most populous nation in June - is a co-operation deal between the EU and 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

The 403-page pact does not mention LGBT rights or same-sex relationships at all - yet many Nigerians believe that by signing it the West African nation has automatically legalised same-sex relationships.

The claims went viral last week when a piece published by Nigeria’s Daily Trust newspaper falsely alleged that the agreement forced underdeveloped and developing countries to recognise LGBT rights as a condition “for getting financial and other supports from advanced societies”.

Even if the agreement referenced such rights, it would still be impossible for the provisions of any international agreement signed by Nigeria to automatically result in changing the law, Nigerian lawyer Ugo Egbujo explained

Under current legislation, adopted a decade ago, same-sex couples face up to 14 years in prison.

“The only way to domesticate a law is to bring it to the National Assembly, where members must deliberate and vote to adopt it. Without doing this, it isn’t a law nor is it justiciable nor enforceable,” Mr Egbujo told the BBC.

“We have clear legislation on same-sex marriage and since its establishment in 2014, it has not been touched. Signing a multilateral agreement will not automatically change that.”

Has the government reacted?

Yes, it says it would never compromise its anti-LGBT laws and that it signed the agreement to boost the country’s economic development. The Nigerian Bar Association has also released a statement to say there is no provision in the agreement requiring the country to accept LGBT rights as a pre-condition for a $150bn (£116bn) loan.

Despite these clarifications, opposition supporters have weaponised the fake news to attack the government and to whip up anger around the contentious issues of religion, ethnicity and politics.

President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who are both Muslims, have been accused of betraying their religion.

The false story is trending across social media and has become the leading subject of debate for influencers and political commentators.

How has the LGBT community been affected?

Hate speech has increased, according to Bisola Akande, a senior programmes officer for a local LGBT group who requested her name be changed. “We came under attack with our details posted online. We had to shut down our website and are trying to protect ourselves,” she told the BBC. Wise, a human rights organisation based in the northern city of Kano, has been the subject of online attacks - forcing it to take down its website and lock its social media pages.

Social media accounts for staff have also been deactivated, protected, or made private, one of its representatives told the BBC.

The fury against Wise has been prompted by footage resurfacing of one of its events held a few years ago at which an official belonging to the city’s Hisbah police, a unit that enforces Sharia or Islamic law, speaks in support of LGBT rights.

It has led to the official in question being arrested this week - despite his protestations that his remarks, made during an interview, were intended to be in support of women’s empowerment.

Female Nigerian TikTokers who post pictures of themselves with other women - even if a sister or friend - have also become the target of homophobic abuse with derisive comments condemning their supposed sexual orientation.

When were concerns about the deal first raised?

It can be traced back to lawyer Sonnie Ekwowusi, who wrote an opinion article in Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper last November urging the Nigerian government not to sign the Samoa Agreement, calling it “the deceptively and euphemistically crafted LGBT agreement between the EU and ACP [African, Caribbean and Pacific] countries”.

The EU admitted there were concerns about LGBT issues when about 30 countries, mostly African and Caribbean nations, including Nigeria, initially failed to sign the pact last year.

They had wanted to check whether the deal “would be compatible with their legal order, notably as regards same-sex relations and sexual health and rights”, the EU said.

“This move surprised several commentators, as the wording on these topics does not go beyond existing international agreements,” an EU parliament briefing document published in December said.

In fact “as a matter of compromise,” it had been agreed that signatories would commit to the implementation of existing international agreements as some. African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) states had been “reluctant to see the foundation agreement mention sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTI rights)”, it continued.

The Nigerian government went on to study the wording and agreed - saying in a declaration that it was consistent with Nigeria’s laws and other commitments.

Nigeria’s economic planning minister explained the Samoa Agreement had been signed on 28 June 2024 after being subject to extensive reviews and consultations by the country’s inter-ministerial committee.

Did this satisfy the critics?

No, Mr. Ekwowusi reignited the flames of controversy several days later in his article published in the Daily Trust, which said that “certain articles of the agreement, especially articles 2.5 and 29.5, legalise LGBT, ‘transgenderism’, abortion, teen sexual abuse, and perversity in African countries”. However, the content of these articles does not support this:

a Article 2.5 reads: “The Parties shall systematically promote a gender perspective and ensure that gender equality is mainstreamed across all policies.”

b Article 29.5 reads: “The Parties shall support universal access to sexual and reproductive health commodities and healthcare services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.”

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Ekwowusi maintained his allegations. “Gender equality” was a euphemism used by the EU to encompass sexual and LGBT rights and “reproductive health” was a euphemism for abortion and contraceptives, he said.

He admitted the pact could not override Nigerian legislation, but suggested tighter language was needed.

“We are advocating that they put a definition clause so that we know what the terms are. Define gender, define gender equality, define sexual reproductive health,” Mr Ekwowusi said.

What is the Samoa Agreement?

It is a legal framework for relations between the EU, a major provider of development aid, and 79 members of the Organisation of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).

It lays down common principles for around two billion people around the world to address global challenges together.

Respect for human rights, democratic principles, and the rule of law constitute an essential element of the agreement, but it also encompasses areas like sustainable economic growth, climate change, and migration.

The EU briefing document admitted that in some areas the wording fell short “of the EU negotiators' ambitions”.

It replaces a previous EU partnership deal – the Cotonou Agreement - adopted in 2000 which aimed to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty.