A Chief Imam from Nigeria has condemned the acceptance of same-sex marriage by countries such as England, Ireland and the US, labelling it as anti-human.

Sheikh Muhammad Khalid, the Chief Imam of Apo Legislators’ Quarters Jumat Mosque, made the comments in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, stating those pushing for same-sex marriage and the countries who had already approved it, were taking a stand “against humanity”.

“I will never support same sex marriage, because of my religion and I am sure that no religion in the world will support it,” he said.

“It is against our culture as Nigerians, and against normal human life before the Almighty Allah.”

Khalid said that no religion in the world should encourage homosexuality. He also praised former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan for signing an anti-gay marriage bill into law.

Jonathan signed the controversial Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill in January 2014, meaning those who enter into a same-sex marriage or civil union face a 14-year prison sentence.

In addition, it is an offence to take part in or witness a same-sex marriage ceremony.

The strict law also forbids people from running gay clubs, societies, processions or meetings in Nigeria. The punishment for such acts is 10 years in prison.

According to the Imam, same-sex marriages should not be allowed, because men and women were created purely for procreation.

“It is clearly written in the Holy Quran that marriage is between a man and a woman, not a man marrying a man or a woman marrying a woman,” he said.

“Whoever feels that he or she can go against Allah’s instructions, will end up disappointed”.

Khalid said that homosexuality was foreign to Nigerian culture, and blamed the west for trying to force such practice countries such as Nigeria.

He also claimed that allowing same-sex marriage could even prove fatal, saying that the act could spread certain diseases previously unknown to mankind.

Last week, Nigerian rights activist Bisi Alimi has expressed optimism – after a poll found that support for his country’s anti-gay law is slowly declining.

The poll found that 87 percent of Nigerians support a law criminalising same-sex relationships, down from 96 percent five years ago.