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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Nigeria face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. LGBT rights are generally infringed upon; both male and female expressions of homosexuality are illegal in Nigeria and punishable by up to 16 years of prison in the conventional court system. There is no legal protection for LGBT rights in Nigeria—a largely conservative country of more than 225 million people, split between a mainly Muslim north and a largely Christian south. Very few LGBT persons are open about their sexual orientation, as violence against them is frequent. According to PinkNews, Nigerian authorities generally target the LGBT community. Many LGBT Nigerians are fleeing to countries with progressive law to seek protection. Attempted same-sex marriages have also been criminalised within Nigeria since 2013. The maximum punishment in the 12 northern states that have adopted Shari'a law is death by stoning. That law applies to all Muslims and to those who have voluntarily consented to application of the Shari'a courts. In southern Nigeria and under the secular criminal laws of northern Nigeria, the maximum punishment for same-sex sexual activity is 16 years' imprisonment. According to the 2007 Pew Global Attitudes Project, 97% of Nigerian residents believe that homosexuality is a way of life that society should not accept, which was the second-highest rate of non-acceptance in the 45 countries surveyed. In 2015, a survey by an organisation founded by a Nigerian homosexual activist based in London claimed this percentage decreased to 94%. In this survey by Bisi Alimi, as of the same period the percentage of Nigerians who agree LGBT persons should receive education, healthcare, and housing is 30%. The level of disapproval declined slightly to 91% in another Pew Research Center poll in 2019. Legality of same-sex sexual activity Federal Republic of Nigeria Criminal law Federal Criminal Code in all southern states Sex acts between men are illegal under the Criminal Code that applies to southern Nigeria and carry a maximum penalty of 14 years' imprisonment. Sex acts between women are not mentioned specifically in the code, although it is arguable that the gender-neutral term "person" in Section 214 of the code includes women. Chapter 21 of that code provides in pertinent part as follows: Section 214. Any person who – (a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; or (c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature; is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years. Section 215. Any person who attempts to commit any of the offences defined in the last preceding section is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years. The offender cannot be arrested without a warrant. Section 217. Any male person who, whether in public or private, commits any act of gross indecency with another male person, or procures another male person to commit any act of gross indecency with him, or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any male person with himself or with another male person, whether in public or private, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for three years. The offender cannot be arrested without a warrant. Federal Penal Code in all northern states Section 284 of the Penal Code (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act, which applies to all states in northern Nigeria, provides that: Whoever has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen years and shall also be liable to fine.: page: 69  Section 405 provides that a male person who dresses or is attired in the fashion of a woman in a public place or who practises sodomy as a means of livelihood or as a profession is a "vagabond". Under Section 407, the punishment is a maximum of one year's imprisonment or a fine, or both.: page: 126  Section 405 also provides that an "incorrigible vagabond" is "any person who after being convicted as a vagabond commits any of the offences which will render him liable to be convicted as such again".: page: 127  The punishment under Section 408 is a maximum of two years' imprisonment or a fine, or both.: page: 128  Shari'a law enacted by certain northern states Twelve northern states have adopted some form of Shari'a into their criminal statutes: Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara. The Shari'a criminal laws apply to those who voluntarily consent to the jurisdiction of the Shari'a courts and to all Muslims.: page: 45  Meaning of sodomy In the states of Kaduna and Yobe, "sodomy" is committed by "[w]hoever has anal coitus with any man". In the states of Kano and Katsina, "sodomy" is committed by "[w]hoever has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man or woman through her rectum". In the states of Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Sokoto, and Zamfara, "sodomy" is committed by "[w]hoever has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man or woman".: page: 69  Punishment for offence of sodomy In the states of Gombe, Jigawa, Zamfara, and Kano, an unmarried person who commits the offence of sodomy shall be punished with "caning of one hundred lashes" and imprisonment for the length of one year. If married, the punishment for committing sodomy is execution by stoning (rajm). In Kano, death by stoning also applies if one has previously been married.: 70  In the state of Bauchi, a person who commits the offence of sodomy shall be punished with stoning to death (rajm) or by any other means decided by the state.: page: 70  In the states of Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, and Yobe, a person who commits the offence of sodomy shall be punished with stoning to death (rajm).: page: 70  In the state of Sokoto, a person who commits the offence of sodomy shall be punished with stoning to death. If a minor commits the act on an adult, the minor faces correctional punishment and the adult faces punishment by way of ta'azir which may extend to 100 lashes.: 70  In Sokoto, ta'azir means a discretionary punishment for offence whose punishment is not specified.: page: 53  Meaning of lesbianism In the states of Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara, lesbianism is committed by "[w]hoever, being a woman, engages another woman in carnal intercourse through her sexual organ or by means of stimulation or sexual excitement of one another." Bauchi, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states include the following official explanation: "the offence is committed by the unnatural fusion of the female sexual organs and/or by the use of natural or artificial means to stimulate or attain sexual satisfaction or excitement.": page: 71  Punishment for offence of lesbianism In the states of Gombe, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamf.... 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