Co-founder of Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement Aisha Yesufu has said she witnessed same-sex marriages in Nigeria in the 1980s, Igbere TV reports.

Mrs Yesufu said on Monday that homosexuality was not a new discovery in Nigeria, adding that the choice of sexuality is personal.

“You do not need anyone liking your choice of sexuality. All you need is being given the right to practise your sexuality.

“Homosexuality was freely practiced in Nigeria for hundreds of years and I witnessed same sex marriages in the 80s. So calm down, it is not a new discovery,” she tweeted.

When questioned by a Twitter user Imorta Rakeem about the veracity of her claims, Yesufu replied that the LGBTQ community in Nigeria is unaware that homosexuality existed in Nigeria before the coming of the colonialists.

“The most irritating part is that many amongst the LGBTQ community in Nigeria also do not know that before the coming of the colonialists it was entrenched here even while it was illegal over there,” she said.

Homosexuality and same-sex relationships attract a penalty of up to 14 years in Nigeria.