Black LGBTQ lawmakers from Washington and Maryland teamed up with activists in front of the Nigerian Embassy in Northwest Washington recently to condemn last month’s arrest of over 200 people at a same-sex wedding in Delta State.
Recall that officers of the Delta State Police Command stormed a hotel in Ekpan, Warri, where the wedding was taking place and arrested the suspects last month.
During the protest, Maryland state Del. Gabriel Acevero (D-Montgomery County), who is the first openly gay man of Afro-Latino descent elected to the Maryland General Assembly, said: “What we saw with the recent arrest and detention is not just a violation of people’s rights with this unjust arrest, but the parading of LGBTQIA+ folks before the media as if Nigerian law enforcement officials have actually accomplished some sort of a public safety measure.
“Let’s be clear: LGBTQIA+ folks, queer Nigerians are not a threat to Nigerian identity or national security, but Boko Haram is.”
National Black Justice Coalition Public Policy and Programs Director Victoria Kirby York noted she is of Nigerian descent and said she has “not gone to Nigeria because I am frightened as a Black openly lesbian person that I may find myself detained.”
She added: “We are here today to demand that Nigeria releases these detainees and drop the charges.
Martinez, who is also Afro-Latino and the first openly gay man to represent Prince George’s County in the House of Delegates, said: “We are here today because we have heavy hearts addressing a pressing issue that demands our immediate attention.
“Nigeria, a nation with immense potential and cultural richness is currently taking a stance to contradict the principles of equality and human rights.
“We’re here to protest Nigeria’s anti-LGBTQ policy, and urge for change.”
“We’re here to demand that Nigeria release all the detainees and drop all the charges because in a world that is increasingly recognizing the importance of diversity and inclusion, Nigeria’s discriminatory laws against the LGBT community remain a stain on his reputation. These laws not only perpetuate prejudice but also infringe upon the fundamental human rights of countless individuals,”
Oriadha, who is bisexual, said her father was born in Kenya. She dismissed the idea that homosexuality is a Western concept.
She said: “The notion is that this is a white American imperialistic viewpoint and values that are trying to be imposed on these cultures is not true. That notion alone ignores the existence, the mere existence of their own people in their own communities,”
Parker, the first Black gay man elected to the D.C. City Council, in his remarks, said Nigeria is one of many countries where anti-LGBTQ crackdowns are taking place.
Parker also highlighted discrimination and violence based on gender identity and sexual orientation remain problems in D.C. and across the U.S.
He said: “We know, sadly, is that we’re today protesting Nigeria; but we can also protest Pakistan, we can go protest Jamaica and Haiti and a host of other countries around the globe where Black queer people are being prosecuted or being killed.
“Even here in our own country, where Black trans people are being hunted on our streets or have gone missing without even a notice, where there are bans on books, there are bans and our oppressive policies against our bodies, even here in the nation’s capital where we have work to do.”
