From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The National Prayer Altar (NPA) has condemned Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) practices in all forms, along with the sponsors of what it described as “immoral acts” in the country.
NPA Co-coordinator, Pastor Bosun Emmanuel, at a press conference yesterday, called on the government to strengthen legislation against sodomy and demanded the arrest and prosecution of anyone who publicly supports such practices.
Emmanuel urged the National Assembly to reinforce laws against sodomy and sexual perversion by including cross-dressing in the 14-year jail term prescribed under existing legislation.
The cleric further advocated for the prosecution of producers of materials, including films, videos, and publications, that promote LGBTQ content under the same law to be enacted by the National Assembly.
He called on Nigerian Christians, both locally and internationally, to mark Sunday, 15 December 2024, as a day of “National Confession and Repentance from Sodomy.”
“Nigerians must be sensitised to the evil that sodomy portends. God warns in Leviticus 18 that sexual perversion pollutes the land, forcing it to ‘vomit’ its inhabitants. Before our eyes, Nigerians are leaving the country in droves.
“Nigerians must begin to call out those who perpetuate the pollution. They should not be given leadership positions in the land, because when leaders are involved in such grievous sins, the consequences fall upon the entire country. Politicians that engage in homosexuality should be called out as pollutants of the land.
“We urge Christians to fast and pray on that day for God’s forgiveness and deliverance from sodomy and all manner of sexual perversions in the land. We appeal to the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and all other church leaders to call on their congregations to pray during worship services on Sunday, 15 December 2024, renouncing sodomy and sexual perversion in Nigeria.”
He also called on the Ministry of Education to ensure that compromising materials are removed from school curricula and to strengthen the monitoring of school dormitories. “There is an urgent need to protect our children from exposure to the damaging influence of LGBTQ,” he said.
Pastor Emmanuel tasked the National Film and Video Censors Board with stricter monitoring of entertainment materials in the country. He claimed that “LGBTQ sponsors commonly use the film industry to distort public perception,” and urged the country to “resist this abomination, offensive as it is to our cultural and moral values.”
He further called for stricter oversight of NGOs and other not-for-profit organisations, arguing that not all practices adopted in the USA and Europe are suitable for Africa. “Our cultural and religious values should be the lenses through which we view our environment and filter out what is abominable to us,” he said.
Pastor Emmanuel proposed new legislation that would allow Nigerians to sue foreign NGOs introducing projects deemed harmful to the country. “We should not present Nigeria as a country without gates and walls. We must strengthen the moral boundaries of our nation.”
Finally, he appealed to parents to emphasise “home training,” explaining that while schools impart knowledge, parents must instil core values. “Children brought up in the fear of God are well-disposed to resist moral defilement,” he added.