A bill prohibiting crossdressing has been introduced to the National Assembly, with a six- month jail term proposed for offenders, if eventually it’s passed into law.
The bill which was read on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, was introduced by a member of the lower chamber, Umar Muda.
According to the bill, “a person engaging in crossdressing is guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment of 6 months or to a fine of five hundred thousand naira.”
The bill is with the exemption of those using it for entertainment.
If it scales through the second and third readings, and eventually signed into law, several notable crossdressers in the country may be looking at six years behind bars.
The bill also seeks to amend the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act of 2013 by including crossdressing as one of the offences under the Act.
Recall that same sex couples and gay persons in Nigeria face 14 years in jail if convicted by a court.