Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the ambassador for her response. She makes a good defence of much that is happening in Nigeria and I do not suggest that any of this lies at her door. I realise she is a defender of women and of human rights but to say that this is the law in Nigeria is not an excuse for what is happening to gay people in Nigeria and does not absolve the President and Government of any responsibility. It is the Government’s responsibility to give leadership and to defend the human rights of all citizens. To say it is the law is not a defence of what is happening. I realise the ambassador is not responsible for this but it is important that Nigeria as a member of the international community should understand this kind of persecution is not acceptable. I am not surprised the gay community in Nigeria is not large, given the laws operating against it.

Regarding the activities by Boko Haram, I accept what the ambassador says about this being a regional problem that does not all lie at Nigeria’s door. My main concern is the girls who were abducted and brought to somewhere outside or inside the country. The ambassador refers to them as displaced persons. The definition of displaced persons is people who move themselves because of war or some catastrophe or natural disaster. These girls are not displaced persons in the accepted sense of the word. I assume that is who the ambassador was talking about.