Lawyer
Chukwuma Martin Chiaha was born in Enugu State Nigeria in 1988.
He obtained a degree in law from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Kaduna State in 2012. After emerging successfully from the Nigerian Law School in 2013, he was called to the Nigerian Bar. He developed strong passion in defending the rights of the LGBTI persons in Nigeria while serving as Corp member in the Benue State Ministry of Justice in 2014.
He became a full-time LGBTI Rights Activist in 2015 when he joined a Pro-LGBTI organisation based in Abuja. He provides pro-bono legal services for the LGBTI persons facing challenges as a result of their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), most importantly, legal representations in courts of law, securing of police bail, and through other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. He has recorded remarkable victories in a number of SOGI related cases in FCT, Kaduna, Gombe and the other Northern States in Nigeria.
Martin has attended both local and international conferences and training on LGBTI Human Rights issues as well as on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights. He has written many articles and of his abstract: The role of NGOs in confronting anti-gay legislation: a panacea to combating the spread of HIV/AIDS among MSM in Nigeria was presented at the 21st IAS Conference held in Durban South Africa in 2016.
Martin is currently part of the strategic legal team working on the on-going litigation challenging the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act 2013.
Work:
- Secured bail for 2 LGBT persons arrested in Abuja because of their sexual orientation under 24 hours after arrest
- He has currently involved a complex case of an LGBT person in Abuja arraigned on the accusation of being LGBT and caught in the act of having sex with a minor.
- Martin Chiaha offering pro-bono services to 17 arrested LGBT persons in Kano, Kaduna and Abuja and is working to get them bail
- Formed a four-man team of legal aids and paralegals in Kaduna to work with key community members who cannot afford legal representations
- Handled mop-violence case against MSM community member in Mpape, Abuja in April 2018
- Ongoing 4 pro-bono cases for LGBTI victims in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano
- Engaged the Police on how to handle LGBTI cases in Abuja
- With support from Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa, Martin formed an alliance on challenging the constitutionality of the SSMPA law and legislation in Nigeria