Information Minister Labaran Maku said “We are happy to note that of the 32 issues that were raised in the last report in 2009 relating to Nigeria, we have made substantial progress in about 30 of those issues. These include issues relating to press freedom, the rights of citizens and the rights of women.
“There are two areas Nigeria has continued to differ with the United Nations Human Rights Council and these two areas have to do with the abolition of death penalty as well as the clamour by some nations for the enforcement of same-sex marriage.
“On these two, substantial progress is being made in terms of the death penalty issues within our statutes that we need to resolve, and it is not only Nigeria, but even the United States and several other countries have not yet abolished death penalty. It is something to be pursued and it is also something that we need time, change in attitude, change in perceptions, and change in laws for these to become reality.
“There are still philosophical, fundamental differences of opinion on the matter of the death penalty. It is not something that we have a national consensus on now for Nigeria to make a definite decision on this one.
“But in relation to same-sex marriage, also we still have fundamental differences within our country and so we are trying to look into it and see what position Nigeria will take.”
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