Yes, being gay is illegal in Nigeria. Same-sex relationships, public displays of affection between people of the same sex, and participation in LGBTQ+ organizations are all crimes under federal law, with penalties of up to 14 years in prison. Older criminal statutes inherited from the colonial era add parallel offenses, and in 12 northern states, Sharia law can impose death by stoning for same-sex conduct.
The Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act
The main federal law is the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, known as the SSMPA, signed by President Goodluck Jonathan on January 7, 2014. Despite its name, the Act reaches well beyond marriage. It criminalizes same-sex relationships, public affection, and the existence of groups that support LGBTQ+ people.
The Act declares any same-sex marriage or civil union “invalid and illegal.” Marriage is defined exclusively as a union between one man and one woman under the Marriage Act, Islamic law, or customary law. No Nigerian court will enforce a same-sex union, no agency will register one, and no place of worship may solemnize one. A same-sex marriage legally performed abroad becomes void the moment either spouse enters Nigeria.
The prison terms under the SSMPA break down by offense:
- Entering a same-sex marriage or civil union: up to 14 years.
- Operating, participating in, or registering an LGBTQ+ club, society, or organization: up to 10 years.
- Public display of a same-sex relationship, directly or indirectly: up to 10 years.
- Witnessing, aiding, or arranging a same-sex marriage, including officiating or attending: up to 10 years.
The phrase “public show of a same-sex amorous relationship” is not defined in the statute. Analysts have noted the wording could cover holding hands or hugging, which gives police and prosecutors wide discretion to decide what qualifies.
The Criminal Code and Penal Code
The SSMPA sits on top of older statutes that already criminalized same-sex intimacy. In southern Nigeria, Section 214 of the Criminal Code Act makes “carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature” a felony punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Section 217 separately criminalizes “gross indecency” between males, in public or in private, with up to three years. Both provisions trace back to British colonial legislation and remain fully enforceable. Section 217 targets conduct that falls short of Section 214, which means almost any physical intimacy between men can be charged under one or the other, and neither section requires the acts to occur in public.
In the north, the secular Penal Code contains parallel offenses. Some northern states have raised the penalties: Kano amended its Penal Code in 2014 to prescribe 14 years in prison and a 50,000-naira fine for same-sex sexual activity and lesbianism specifically. A person in northern Nigeria can therefore face charges under the SSMPA, the secular Penal Code, and Sharia law at the same time.
Sharia Law in the 12 Northern States
Twelve northern states apply Sharia criminal law alongside the secular system: Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara. Sharia courts have jurisdiction over Muslims; non-Muslims accused of criminal offenses in these states are tried under the secular Penal Code.
Under the Sharia penal codes of these states, same-sex acts are treated as capital offenses or crimes warranting severe physical punishment. Zamfara mandates death by stoning for a married person convicted of sodomy. Kebbi State’s Section 132 states: “Whoever commits the offence of sodomy shall be sentenced to death by stoning.” Bauchi’s code allows death by stoning “or any other means decided by the state.” Unmarried offenders in some states face flogging with a set number of lashes. In one documented Bauchi case, a man received 20 lashes after pleading guilty; the judge could have imposed death and chose leniency.
Due process in these courts has been a serious concern. Human Rights Watch and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have both documented defendants who lacked legal representation, judges who failed to inform the accused of their right to a lawyer, and convictions resting on confessions, some of them coerced.
How the Laws Are Enforced
These are not symbolic statutes. In October 2023, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps arrested 76 people at a gathering in Gombe State, accusing them of attending a “gay party” and planning a “gay wedding.” Two months earlier, police in Delta State arrested 70 men over an alleged plan to hold a same-sex wedding. Authorities read the SSMPA broadly, treating social gatherings of suspected LGBTQ+ people as potential criminal activity.
Alongside formal arrests, LGBTQ+ Nigerians face a pattern of violent entrapment known as “kito.” Criminals use dating apps including Grindr, Romeo, and Tinder to lure victims, then kidnap, beat, extort, or sexually assault them. In 2023, roughly 70 percent of the 996 documented human rights violations against people perceived to be LGBTQ+ in Nigeria were kito cases, according to data collected by The Initiative for Equal Rights and 22 partner organizations. Victims rarely report these crimes, because doing so means disclosing their sexual orientation and risking prosecution. Police have themselves been implicated in entrapment and in using the threat of prosecution to extort money.
There are no legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, or public services. People can be fired, evicted, or denied services with no recourse.
Risks for Foreign Nationals
The SSMPA does not exempt foreign citizens. Foreign same-sex marriage certificates are void inside Nigeria, and the Act’s criminal provisions apply regardless of nationality. The UK government’s travel advisory warns that same-sex sexual activity is illegal with penalties of up to 14 years in prison, and that northern states under Sharia law can prescribe the death penalty.1GOV.UK. Safety and Security – Nigeria Travel Advice
The same advisory warns of “an increased risk of violence, attacks and threats, such as blackmail and intimidation against anyone being thought to be part of the LGBT+ community or supporting their rights.”1GOV.UK. Safety and Security – Nigeria Travel Advice Couples legally married abroad should understand that their marriage carries no recognition in Nigeria, and that traveling together, sharing accommodation, or any public affection creates legal exposure.
Can the Law Be Challenged
Court challenges have so far failed. In October 2014, Joseph Teriah Ebah, a Nigerian living in the UK, sued in the Federal High Court arguing that the SSMPA violated constitutional rights to freedom from discrimination, liberty, association, dignity, and privacy. The court dismissed the case without reaching the merits, ruling that Ebah lacked standing because he had not shown he was personally affected and that he could not represent the broader LGBTQ+ community because “there is no person or association known to law in Nigeria as the LGBT+ community.” The ruling raised the bar for future challenges, since any plaintiff with standing would have to expose themselves to prosecution under the Act. No successful challenge has followed, the Sharia provisions have never been struck down, and political support for the SSMPA remains strong across the country.