No, homosexuality is not legal in Nigeria. Same-sex sexual conduct is a crime everywhere in the country under three overlapping legal systems: colonial-era criminal codes, a 2014 federal statute, and Sharia penal codes in 12 northern states. Penalties run from 10 years in prison for public expression or supporting an LGBTQ organization, to 14 years for same-sex relationships, to death by stoning under some Sharia provisions.
The Federal Law: Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act
The Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, signed into law in January 2014, is the main federal statute. It applies in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, and no state or local authority can override it.1Legal Information Institute. Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act
Despite the name, the Act reaches well past marriage. It defines “civil union” broadly enough to cover domestic partnerships, caring partnerships, civil solidarity pacts, reciprocal beneficiary relationships, and other living arrangements between same-sex partners.2ILGA World. Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013 Same-sex marriages performed abroad have no legal effect in Nigeria.1Legal Information Institute. Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act
The penalty structure under the Act:
- Entering a same-sex marriage or civil union: up to 14 years in prison.2ILGA World. Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013
- Witnessing, aiding, or helping conduct a same-sex ceremony: up to 10 years.
- Registering, operating in, or participating in any LGBTQ club, society, or organization: up to 10 years.
- Any “public show of same sex amorous relationship directly or indirectly”: up to 10 years.
The 14-year figure is a maximum, not a fixed term. The statute says a person “is liable on conviction” to that sentence, which in Nigerian legal practice means judges have discretion up to the ceiling.
The Older Criminal Code and Penal Code
The 2014 Act sits on top of older colonial-era laws that still apply. In the 26 southern and middle-belt states, the Criminal Code Act controls. Section 214 makes sex “against the order of nature” a felony punishable by up to 14 years in prison.3Jurist Nigeria. Section 214 of the Criminal Code Act in Nigeria – Unnatural Offences Section 215 covers attempts, carrying up to seven years. Section 217 targets “gross indecency” between males with up to three years; it does not mention women.4Jurist Nigeria. Section 217 of the Criminal Code Act in Nigeria – Indecent Practices Between Males
In the northern states, the Penal Code applies instead. Section 284 criminalizes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” with up to 14 years in prison plus a fine.5vLex Nigeria. Unnatural Offence in Relation to Section 284 of the Penal Code Law Because these codes operate alongside the federal Act, charges can be brought under either framework.
Sharia Law in 12 Northern States
Twelve northern states run a parallel Sharia criminal justice system: Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara.6Smartraveller. Nigeria Travel Advice and Safety Their penalties for same-sex conduct are the harshest in the country.
Under these codes, sodomy is typically punishable by death by stoning for married men. Unmarried men face public flogging or long prison terms.7U.S. Department of Justice. Nigeria: Situation of Homosexuals and Their Treatment Under Sharia Some states also criminalize same-sex acts between women; Kano State’s penal code prescribes up to 14 years in prison and a fine for lesbianism. In 2022, a Sharia court in Bauchi State sentenced three men to death by stoning for same-sex sexual acts, though no execution for this offense has been confirmed as carried out. In practice, Sharia courts have more often imposed public lashing.
Sharia law can be applied to non-Muslims in some of these jurisdictions, so the assumption that religious courts have no authority over outsiders is unsafe.6Smartraveller. Nigeria Travel Advice and Safety
How the Laws Work in Practice
What happens on the ground is often as dangerous as what the statutes say. Police have used the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act as grounds to raid private gatherings suspected of being LGBTQ events. In a 2023 incident in Gombe State, authorities arrested 76 people at a single gathering. Charges are sometimes built on little more than a person’s clothing or hairstyle. In 2019, 47 men went on trial for public displays of affection under the Act’s public-expression provision.
Police corruption compounds the formal risk. Nigerian human rights groups tracked 89 cases of extortion, 118 incidents of harassment, and more than 20 unlawful detentions of LGBTQ individuals by law enforcement in a single recent year. Officers frequently use the threat of prosecution to extract bribes rather than filing charges.
A separate danger comes from criminal gangs rather than the state. In a scheme known as “kito,” attackers pose as romantic prospects on dating apps, lure LGBTQ people to a location, then ambush, film, and blackmail them under threat of exposure to family or police. Activist estimates put the rate at 15 to 20 reported entrapment and blackmail attempts per week. Victims have almost no recourse, because reporting the crime means admitting to conduct that could land them in prison.
What This Means for Travelers
Foreign nationals are not exempt from any of these laws. Australia’s government travel advisory warns that same-sex relationships are illegal in Nigeria and that LGBTQ individuals “have been subject to harassment, verbal and physical abuse, across the country.”6Smartraveller. Nigeria Travel Advice and Safety The advisory also notes that clothing not conforming to local gender-based dress norms can attract legal trouble on its own.
There is no jurisdiction inside Nigeria where same-sex conduct is legal. Anyone within the country’s borders, citizen or visitor, is subject to the federal Act, the applicable criminal or penal code, and, in the 12 northern states, Sharia law as well.