African Bar Association flags ‘deceptively drafted’ LGBT provisions in Samoa Agreement

The African Bar Association has written Nigeria’s House of Representatives, highlighting purportedly deceptive LGBT provisions in the recently signed Samoa Agreement.

In the letter to Tajudeen Abbas, the House Speaker, dated September 12, 2024, and titled, “Re: Identification, Analysis And Implication of Deceptively Drafted LGBT Provision In The Samoa Agreement”, the association identified twelve specific provisions within the Samoa Agreement that “contain embedded references to sexual orientation and gender identity promoting LGBT agenda”.

The agreement, signed by Nigeria on June 28, 2024, sparked public outrage for its implications on Nigeria’s stance regarding LGBT rights, especially since the country previously delayed its endorsement. But Nigerian authorities denied such provisions.

Abubakar Bagudu, the minister of budget and economic planning had stated that LGBT references were absent from the agreement.

“Nowhere in the documents were LGBT or same-sex marriage mentioned even remotely, and emphatically stating that it would be wrong for anyone to imply that Nigeria had accepted those tendencies”, he had said in response to public outcry.

Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, president of the Nigeria Bar Association had weighed in, stating that: “I wish to state that there is no provision in the SAMOA agreement that requires Nigeria to accept or recognize LGBTQ or gay rights, either as a precondition for a loan of $150 billion or at all.”

But critics, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, expressed concerns that the agreement might inadvertently recognize international LGBT rights, thereby conflicting with Nigeria’s longstanding stance against such ideologies.

In response, the African Bar Association’s Family Law Committee said it decided to analyze and research the context of the SAMOA agreement in depth.

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“The Family Law Committee finds that LGBT affirmative language is by content, context and implication deceptively embedded in the provisions, programing and implementation of the SAMOA Agreement”, the letter read.

These provisions, they claim, include vague language around “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” which could undermine Nigeria’s laws and cultural values.

Among these are implications regarding non-discrimination clauses and the requirement for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, which the association interpreted as supporting LGBT agendas.

The Committee also raised concerns that grant recipients for the treaty’s implementation will include NGOs and agencies that actively support LGBT initiatives. It warned that this could lead to a gradual acceptance of these ideologies under the guise of international obligations.

“There is a seriously overlooked problem, one of which ACP countries likely don’t have on their radar at all, and that is the fact that many of the grant recipients for implementing the treaty will be LGBT-supportive NGOs, businesses and UN agencies that are, even now, working to advance the LGBT agenda in Nigeria with EU funds.”

This Association noted that its report does not provide an exhaustive list of problematic provisions, adding that there are too many to address including the treaty’s assault on the national sovereignty of ACP countries with its supremacy clause, its requirement for ACP countries to hold joint positions and voting in international fora, and its mandated stakeholder approach for implementing the treaty, among others.

The association however said its report would provide enough material for the House of Representatives to pronounce itself on whether the SAMOA Agreement contains LGBT-promoting provisions.