A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, dismissed a suit by sex workers in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, seeking fundamental rights for their profession.
The sex workers had approached the court to enforce their fundamental rights to operate in the FCT without intimidation from security agencies of the Federal Government.
But in his judgment on Wednesday, Justice James Omotosho, declared that prostitutes have no legal rights under any known law or the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Justice Omotosho stated that commercial sex workers were even liable to be arrested and prosecuted. And can face a jail term of up to two years under the criminal law known as the Penal Code.
Recall that the sex workers had sought a court order preventing the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board from intimidating, harassing, arresting, and prosecuting them in Abuja.
They also requested the court to enforce their fundamental human right to engage in prostitution, as allegedly enshrined in Nigerian law.
However, while delivering the judgment, Justice Omotosho ruled that the plaintiffs’ application was incompetent.
The judge further declared that even if it were competent, the reliefs sought by the commercial sex workers were not grantable. He, therefore, dismissed the suit for lack of merit.
source: Daily Post