A Nigerian actor has been sentenced to three months in prison
after allegedly admitting to having sex with a man, deemed an "unnatural
offence" under Nigerian law, a prosecutor said on Thursday.
Bestwood
Chukwuemeka, who is not well known but has reportedly acted in movies produced
by Nigeria's prolific Nollywood film industry, was sentenced this week in a
magistrates court in the capital Abuja.
According to
police prosecutor Mohammed Umar, Chukwuemeka had a sexual encounter with a
friend's brother in August at a private home and was later arrested after the
other party informed the police. He initially denied the charge.
"The case
came up for hearing on Monday and the accused changed his plea and pleaded
guilty to the offence after the witness [complainant] had testified,"
"The accused
said he was intoxicated by alcohol. The accused was sentenced to three months
imprisonment without an option of fine on Monday after a summary trial."
It was unclear if
he had a lawyer and a representative of Nigeria's actors' guild could not
immediately be reached for comment. Chukwuemeka is not a well known performer,
but was identified as an actor by the prosecutor.
Prosecutions
related to homosexuality are rare in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country.
Last year,
Nigeria's Senate approved a bill that would harshly crack down on gay rights,
including outlawing gay marriage and banning public displays of affection
between homosexual couples. The bill has since stalled.
The crime of
"unnatural offence" has existed in Nigeria's penal act since
independence in 1960 and is based on colonial era laws, said human rights
lawyer Jiti Ogunye.
"It is rare
for someone to be charged with an unnatural offence. It is not common... These
are things that people do in the privacy of their homes," he explained.
The offence covers
sexual contact with animals, homosexual relations and certain heterosexual
acts.
He explained that
the crime of unnatural offence has previously emerged amid political disputes,
including when an individual has tried to damage their rival's reputation.
Homosexual acts
are illegal in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, with rights groups and Western
nations repeatedly calling for such laws to be scrapped.