Kwashi was reacting to an allegation by Mr Davis Mac-Iyalla, leader of Changing Attitude Nigeria, that homosexuals were being physically assaulted in the country.

Iyalla had requested the intervention of the ABC as the 'spiritual leader' of the global Anglican Communion.

According to Kwashi, the ABC criticised the alleged assaults on gay Anglicans in Nigeria , describing it as " latest round of unchristian bullying ."

However, the Jos archbishop said: "I have personally tried to discover the place or nature of the attacks and threats without success.

"It is wrong for Canterbury and a group of English Bishops to accuse the Church of Nigeria of being the perpetrator of a physical attack on the streets.

"If a Nigerian Bishop or church leader was mugged in England would the Archbishop of Canterbury or even the Church of England in general be blamed for this?"

He maintained that "the Church of Nigeria would not be bullied and was committed to the human rights of all people".

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The Archbishop of Canterbury has condemned death threats made against the leader of a group representing homosexual Anglicans in England.

Dr Rowan Williams said threats against Rev Colin Coward, director of Changing Attitude, marked the "latest round of unchristian bullying".

He was also criticising assaults on gay Anglicans in Nigeria.

His comments follow a global dispute over homosexuality in the worldwide Anglican Church in recent years.

The divisions in the church over homosexuality began with the ordination of a gay bishop by the liberal American branch of Anglicanism, the Episcopal Church, in 2003.

On one side are the conservative Anglicans who are adamant that ordaining gay clergy or blessing same-sex relationships in church is a sin, and on the other a coalition which insists on tolerance and inclusion of homosexual people.

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The Revd Colin Coward, UK director of Changing Attitude, and his Nigerian counterpart, Davis MacIyalla, have both received death threats because “they are polluting Nigeria with abomination and immorality”. Over the Easter weekend, serious assaults were made on Changing Attitude supporters in Nigeria.

Davis Mac-Iyalla and members of Changing Attitude Nigeria are being threatened with violence

The statement from Dr Williams said that the threats were “disgraceful”. “The Anglican Communion has repeatedly . . . unequivocally condemned violence and the threat of violence against gay and lesbian people. I hope that this latest round of unchristian bullying will likewise be universally condemned.”

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A shocking story of mob violence has emerged which almost culminated in the death of one of the leaders of the Changing Attitude Nigeria (CAN) group in Port Harcourt. The violent attack occurred in the context of the funeral ceremony being held for the sister of Davis Mac-Iyalla, attended by six members of the Port Harcourt group on Thursday 20 March 2008.

The CAN Port Harcourt leader who was the subject of the attack said:

“I am in total shock and living in fear while feeling the pains I suffered in the hands of a mob group that attacked me at the Service of Songs for Davis’s late sister. While hymn singing was going on a muscular man walked up to me and asked me for a word outside the compound.

“The next thing I saw was a mob group who were there to attack me. They started slapping and punching me, kicked me on the ground and spat on me. I have never known fear like I knew when they were brutalizing me. I thought they were going to kill me there and then. While beating me they were shouting: ‘You notorious homosexual, you think can run away from us for your notorious group to cause more abomination in our land?’ Those who attacked me were well informed about us so I suspect an insider or one of the leaders of our Anglican church have hands in this attack.”

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Cary Alan Johnson of the Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) was in Nigeria to meet the men and their lawyers.

He has expressed serious doubts as to whether the men can get a fair trial.

All aged between 18 and 21, they were detained by the Islamic "vice squad" at a hotel in Bauchi city, Nigeria in August 2007.

Bauchi is a Muslim state in the centre of Nigeria, with a population of 316,000.

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IGLHRC Senior Regional Specialist for Africa Cary Alan Johnson was in northern Nigeria last week to meet with the men and their defense attorneys prior to the hearing. According to Johnson, the arrest and prosecution of the Bauchi 18 shows just how much official discrimination LGBT people in Nigeria face and how the government targets sexual minorities.

"These men are being railroaded by the authorities," said Johnson. "Contradicting their own statements, the police first said that the men were all dressed in women's clothing, then that articles of female clothing and cosmetics were found in their belongings, which somehow proves that they were engaging in same sex marriage and homosexuality. The rhetoric of the police and court authorities are confusing, at best, and attempt to incite the public against the young men by conflating the concepts of 'homosexuality,' 'cross-dressing' and 'gay marriage'."

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Water demand is increasing three times as fast as the world’s population growth rate, and poverty is the single most important factor related to meeting that demand, said officials at the 3rd World Water Forum. Some 1.2 billion people lack safe water supply and 2.4 billion live without secure sanitation, according to Water Forum official figures. At least five million people die yearly from water related diseases, including 2.2 million children under the age of five. An estimated one half of people in developing countries are suffering from diseases caused either directly by infection through the consumption of contaminated water or food, or indirectly by disease carrying organisms, such as mosquitoes, that breed in water -- Environment News Service. Tinu Ayanniyi takes a look at water crisis as it affects Nigerians.

Patrick, six year-old son of the editor of a national newspaper in the country, Dapo and Omolara Johnson went to visit some family friends with his parents in one of the high brow areas of Ibadan city.

When the visitation ended, Patrick was nowhere to be found. A search party combed the big compound and Patrick was eventually found standing in front of a running tap, staring intently at it.

Everybody wondered at his action but all he was able to say was “daddy see. Water.” His embarrassed father got the message. His son had never seen a running tap in his six years on earth.

By Funso Muraina and Chuks Okocha

The Court of Appeal in Abuja  put to rest the controversy surrounding public procession over whether or not there is a need for police permit. The court said it was no longer necessary to obtain permit before embarking on any assembly. In its judgment, the appellate court presided over by Justice Danladi Mohammad held that such police approval infringed on the fundamental human rights provided for in the 1999 Constitution. “The provision of the Act is unnecessary.

"We are in democracy and Nigeria has joined the league of civilised societies,'' Justice Olufunmilayo Adekeye who read the lead judgment said. Justice Adekeye said it was wrong to continue to rely on the colonial method of suppressing people from exercising and enjoying their rights under the guise of Public Order Act. The lead counsel to the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Mr. Femi Falana, had filed a suit on September 21, 2003, condemning the police for disrupting the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) rally at Kano with tear-gas.

The panel gave the judgment in an appeal by the Federal Government against the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja. Justice Anwuri Chikere of the High Hourt had in 2005 nullified the Act on the ground that it was obsolete and a neo-colonialist rule. Dissatisfied with the decision of the lower court, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Nigerian Police Force had filed an appeal.

Afterward Episcopalians gathered for the Pride Day Eucharist at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, where Bishop Marc preached an affecting sermon and commissioned Davis to continue his work among LGBTs in Nigeria and West Africa. The congregation, asked to support Davis in his ministry, shouted, "WE WILL!"

Everywhere he goes, Davis is greeted with enthusiasm. His personal charm, sense of humor and rhetorical gifts impress even his occasional detractors. He's adjusted well to the United States and constantly makes new friends.

But the story of LGBT Nigerians provokes many emotions: grief, anger, mourning and determination. No one should be scapegoated; no group should be told it has no right to exist.

Davis tells his story, but the issue is much larger and much smaller; it's about 14 million LGBT Nigerians who haven't yet gained his courage to come out and claim their place in family, church and nation.

Patiently God calls them, and one by one, they step into the light and ride with Davis up Market Street in San Francisco, the Gay Capital of the World where everyone is free.

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