Justice James Kolawole Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking fundamental rights for commercial sex workers in the Federal Capital Territory FCT to operate without intimidation from security agencies of the federal government.
The Judge held that the prostitutes have no legal rights to enjoy under any known law or the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In a judgment , Justice Omotosho said that the commercial sex workers were even liable to be arrested prosecuted for a jail term of two years under the criminal law known as Penal Code.
A Non Governmental Organization, Lawyers Alert Initiative for Protection of Rights of Children, Women and Indigent had sued the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, FCT Minister, Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as 1st to 4th respondents respectively.
The sex workers had sought to stop the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) from harrassing, intimidating, arresting and prosecuting them in Abuja.
They asked the Judge to enforce their fundamental human rights to prostitution as enshrined in the Nigerian law.
They sought a declaration that the duties of the board does not extend to the harassment, arrest and raid of women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.
However, Justice Omotosho, in his judgement, held that the application of the plaintiff was incompetent under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009.
The judge held that even if it was competent, “the reliefs sought are not grantable and thus, it is hereby dismissed for lack of merit.”
He held that a reasonable person would have expected that the applicant would instead occupy itself with developing the girl child and protecting the sanctity of womanhood instead of promoting immorality and the spread of sexual diseases.
Allowing prostitutes to have free reign on the streets of Abuja will, in no time, destroy the moral fibre of the city and turn it into a hotbed of immorality.
