55 prostitutes have been arrested by security agents in Abuja after they have been given serious warning in the past.
The Abuja prostitutes after they were arrested by security operatives
Policemen in Abuja have arrested about 55 commercial s*x workers in the federal capital. The FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello alongsid operatives of the Social Development Secretariat (SDS) swooped on some flash points and joints recently and effected the arrest of the suspected commercial s*x workers.
A breakdown of those arrested shows that out of the 55, Benue State topped the list with 18, while Cross River came second with 13 followed by Nasarawa and Kaduna states which recorded eight each.
It was gathered that the operation was as a result of ministerial directive to relevant agencies in the city management to purge the city of unwholesome activities.
Speaking to our correspondent on the development, the Acting Secretary of SDS, Mrs Adebola Elegbede decried the high rate of prostitution in Abuja, stressing that there is no wonder FCT is rated highest in Nigeria with HIV/AIDs prevalence.
Elegbede who called on women of easy virtue to engage themselves in meaningful ventures also used the occasion to pledge the readiness of the FCT Administration to train repentant commercial s*x workers in various entrepreneurial skills.
She, however, warned that a mobile court has been set up to prosecute those who are not willing to change from their old habit, just as she called on the men folk to stop patronising commercial s*x workers in their own interest.
According to her, “since we carried out a major demolition in Apo and Arab area where teenage prostitution was rampant, we have not embarked on any major operation; the Social Development Secretariat decided to focus on some major spots within the city centre. Our team, on a tip-off, embarked on this major operation between 1am and 5am in Mabushi, Garki and Wuse 2. I can tell you that 55 of them were arrested in questionable and this ungodly hour. Tell me what a responsible girl will be doing between 1am and 5am in such locations? However, it is not our duty as a secretariat to pass judgment on them. We are handing them over to a mobile court for trials.”
Elegbede, however, expressed regret that some residents under the guise of human rights activists are supporting the nefarious activities of commercial sex workers in the FCT.
One of the suspected commercial s*x workers who volunteered her name as Alice Ajon claimed that she was driven by the current economic reality to engage in prostitution, adding that she was a staff of one of the hospitality outlets in Abuja before her sudden retrenchment.
Another who refused to disclose her name claimed that she is a victim of circumstance, adding that she was stranded at one of the bus stops in Wuse 2 when the team accosted her.