Since April, news agencies and human rights watchdog groups around the world appear to have fallen silent on the Nigerian Bill which could criminalise peaceful advocacy, expression or association related to issues of sexual orientation or same-sex relationships there. New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters assured concerned Kiwis in April that he'll follow the issue and engage with Nigeria as appropriate opportunities arise, but he has also been unresponsive since then, despite approaches for updates from GayNZ.com. The United Nations has also expressed concern over Nigeria's continued defence of the death penalty. The Nigerian House and Senate resumed talks last month, but so far nothing from them has appeared on the global news wires. Since this is a very serious human rights issue, “a strong response from the international community is imperative,” said Labour MP Charles Chauvel in March. “Through the anti-apartheid and peace movements, we've shown in the past that New Zealanders can use moral suasion to real effect to influence international outcomes,” he commented. The president of the Pentecostal Bishops Communion of Nigeria, Bishop Sam Amaga, told the UK's Sun newspaper yesterday that people are beginning to talk openly about gay and lesbianism in Nigeria now. “That portends a lot of danger, because we know the cost that goes with that,” he warns. “If people say gay marriages and lesbianism is a human rights issue and we should let it be considered as such, armed robbers will rise up one day and demand that armed robbery is also a human rights issue. “We should be strong enough to focus on anything that brings down our morality,” he advised. International organisation ‘Human Rights Watch' commented last month that Nigeria's recent general election “was not only brazenly rigged but also exceptionally violent, resulting in at least 300 election-related deaths. “When we suggested to a senior western diplomat that Nigeria's recent elections were rigged, violent and seen as illegitimate by much of the Nigerian public, his response was brusque: 'So what?'” Ref: GayNZ.com, The Sun, Human Rights Watch (m)