validity of foreign marriages

Q3028. What is the meaning of LGBTI?

LGBTI means Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex. These are people whose sexual orientation and identity are different from the traditional. The meaning of the terms individually is set below:

a. A lesbian is a woman who is sexually attracted to other women.

b. A gay is a man who is sexually attracted to other men.

c. A bisexual is a person who is attracted to both men and women.

d. Transgender is a term that applies to persons whose appearance, behavior or other personal characteristics differ from the traditional gender norms, passes sex and extends to a person’s gender identification, a person’s internal sense of being male or female.

e. Transsexuals are individuals whose gender identity differs from their anatomical sex, a condition often characterized as gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder.

f. Intersex refers to a person whose chromosomal, gonadal or anatomical sex is not exclusively male or female. It is a term used for a condition in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not seem to fit the typical definitions of male or female.

Q3029. Can parties who are of the same sex contract a valid marriage under Nigerian law?

Traditionally, marriage is the union of persons of the opposite sex. In recent times however, the definition of marriage has been expanded to include persons of the same sex in some jurisdictions such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands etc.

However, in Nigeria, all forms of same sex associations and marriage are criminal offences with a term of imprisonment up to 14 years under the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013. S. 1, Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, Section 214, Section 215 and Section 217, Criminal Code are the relevant sections prohibiting and punishing infractions of the law against the abhorred acts.

Christian marriage, customary law and Islamic law marriage in Nigeria are heterosexual in nature and same sex relationship is not envisaged under any of them.