Dafeamekpor deems CSO's attempt to challenge anti-LGBTQ+ bill in court premature

Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, a co-sponsor of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, has dismissed attempts by Civil Society Organisations to challenge the recently passed legislation, deeming it premature.

In an interview on JoyFM's Newsnight, Dafeamekpor stated that until the bill receives presidential assent, there is no legal basis for challenging it in the Supreme Court.

The South Dayi MP clarified that initiating

Read full articlea court challenge at this stage would imply a focus on the declaration of intent rather than a legal matter. Dafeamekpor asserted that challenging a bill in its current state, before becoming law, is legally unfounded.

"The law is very clear. The bill is in the state that it is, to the extent that it has not been assented to by the President to become a law, it remains a declaration of intention by Parliament. So, you cannot challenge a declaration of intention in the court of law. Your cause of action cannot rise upon a declaration of intention, so that school of thought is faulty," he explained.

Dafeamekpor further expressed his readiness to support anyone challenging the bill's constitutionality after it becomes law. He emphasised that the validity of the legislation's constitutionality can only be contested once it receives presidential assent.

He also pointed out that similar attempts were made last year to challenge the bill in the Supreme Court, but the court ruled that a bill cannot be legally challenged unless it is enacted into law.