ISLAMIC SCHOLAR SEEKS DEATH PENALTY FOR HOMOSEXUALS

Malam Abdulkadir Apaokagi, an Abuja-based Islamic scholar, on Sunday called for the imposition of the death penalty on homosexuals in Nigeria.

Apaokagi, in a sermon preached at the weekly prayer session of Nasrul–lahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT), said gays in Nigeria were perverts who did not deserve to co-exist with right thinking and decent people.

According to him, they are worse than murderers and deserve stiffer penalties than those accused of killing fellow human beings.

“Homosexuality and lesbianism are just too dirty in the sight of Allah, those who engage in them deserve more than capital punishment, he said. “When they are killed, their corpse should also be mistreated.”

Apaokagi, who is the deputy chief Imam at the Abuja branch of NASFAT, said in his lecture entitled: “The position of Islam on gay marriage”, that gay people were mentally unstable and could bring severe instability to the society in which they lived.

“None of them can pass a psychiatric test, because they are not normal,” he said.

The scholar's sermon came against the background of a recent law passed by the Senate banning same-sex marriage and public display of affection by gays in Nigeria and stipulating a 14-year jail term for violators.

Quoting from the Quran, Apaokagi hailed the Senate for passing the law, saying that Allah decreed marriages only between members of the opposite sex.

“Any society that tolerates gay marriage would come to destruction the way God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for sodomy,” he said.

“They are criminals, Allah Himself describes them so, and it is great that the Senate has criminalised what they are trying to do.”

He urged the House of Representatives to take a cue from the Senate, and pass its own version of the bill without delay so that President Goodluck Jonathan could sign a harmonised version into law.

Apaokagi also urged Nigerians to ignore criticisms from the West, and come together as one to fight practices that might bring destruction to their country.

In his contribution, Alhaji AbdulHakeem Bello, told the congregation: “Whenever any of you sees something that is indecent, change it with your hands. If you cannot change it with your hands, use your tongue to condemn it.

“The anti-gay law is very popular in Nigeria because it aligns with popular religious, cultural and moral principles of majority of citizens.”