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  • 2018-11-15 (xsd:date)
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  • No, Atiku Abubakar has not signed a same sex marriage treaty (en)
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  • A claim appearing in numerous articles widely shared on Facebook and Twitter states that Atiku Abubakar, an opposition presidential candidate in Nigeria, has recently signed a treaty with numerous unspecified countries, pledging to legalise same-sex marriage in Nigeria, during a recent trip to Dubai. A spokesperson for Abubakar’s campaign said that he had not mentioned LGBT rights. Abubakar would not be able to sign a treaty on behalf of Nigeria as he is not in the government. A screenshot taken on November 15, of an article published on Newsproof.org quoting reaction to claims Atiku Abubakar has signed a treaty regarding same-sex marriage On Sunday November 11, an article on the website Newsproof.org, shared on their Facebook page with over 230,000 followers, claimed that a Christian group called the Young Christian Forum had denounced the apparent signing of a treaty by Abubakar pledging to legalise same-sex marriage if he wins the presidential elections in February 2019. The claims also appeared in Signal NG, The Nigerian Tribune, Global Village Extra and other websites between 10pm on Sunday Night to Monday morning. A screenshot taken on November 15, of an article published on Signalng.com reporting claims Atiku Abubakar has signed a treaty regarding same-sex marriage One tweet carrying the claims, retweeted over 130 times, was published by Nkiruka Nistoran, a pro-Biafran activist. Articles, posts and pictures repeating the claim have been shared on Facebook over 1,500 times. The websites which carried the claims had not previously reported on the event, but carried reaction to the alleged treaty signing from the Young Christian Forum. Most of the articles carried quotes from the national president of the forum, Reverend Hosea Adam Damut. Quotes from Reverend Damut claimed that the group had learnt that the treaty was signed in Dubai, away from Nigeria, in order to hide the development from Nigerians. However there is no evidence that the Youth Christian Forum exists, nor Reverend Damut. Before Sunday night, when the articles appeared, there is no online record or reference of either the Youth Christian Forum or Reverend Damut. A screenshot of a Google search of Reverend Hosea Damut, quoted in numerous articles claiming that Atiku Abubakar signed a same-sex treaty. Before the articles carrying the claims surfaced on November 11, he had not previously been referenced. It is unlikely that the national president of a religious organisation would have been making a statement for the first time, or that any evidence of his existence would be unattainable. Abubakar recently travelled to Dubai for a strategy meeting with officials in the People’s Democratic Party, ahead of the start of the election campaign on November 18. In the claims, Reverend Damut also encouraged Christians to vote against Abubakar, and was quoted as saying that the treaty was a pre-condition for him to get the support of some pro-LGTB nations. The quotation continued: The Young Christian Forum of Nigeria is alarmed that anyone on this earth could compromise the true African and custom of our people by giving in to Satan. This is worse than selling Nigeria’s birth right for a mess of pottage. This is a clear case of inviting God’s wrath on Nigerians. Sola Sanni, a spokesperson for Abubakar’s campaign, said Atiku has not signed any treaty with any country. It’s not possible. He didn’t sign any treaty, he said, adding that Abubakar has not mentioned LGBT rights in the campaign. Treaties are agreements between states and Abubakar would not have been able to sign treaties on behalf of Nigeria as he is not in the government. It is also unlikely that a country would request a signed declaration of a policy pledge from a presidential candidate. The countries that were claimed to have signed the treaty were not named. The articles form part of an emerging theme of misinformation concerning Abubakar, a Muslim politician from North-East Nigeria. Abubakar is seen within Nigeria as a more liberally minded Muslim leader, from Northern Nigeria, a largely Muslim region. Attitudes to LGBTQ rights are broadly hostile across Nigeria, but particularly amongst conservative religious communities, four years after a bill put forward by President Goodluck Jonathan was passed, banning same-sex marriage, relationships and representative organisations. In October, AFP fact-checked similar claims that Abubakar had received support from LGBT organisations in Nigeria, finding no evidence to back them up. They were made by groups quoted on several websites and in two major Nigerian newspapers. There is no evidence that the organisations and people quoted in those articles exist, with no previous record of them and no knowledge of their existence from other LGBT advocate groups. This article was edited on November 15 to change the photo captions (en)
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