A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit filed by commercial sex workers, who sought protection from harassment, arrest, and prosecution by government security agencies.
Justice James Omotosho ruled that prostitution is illegal in Nigeria and that sex workers have no legal rights under any existing law or the Nigerian Constitution. He stated that those involved in sex work could be arrested and sentenced to two years in jail under the Penal Code.
The sex workers had filed the lawsuit against the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB). They argued that the authorities were violating their fundamental human rights by harassing and arresting them.
However, the court ruled that their request was not valid under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009. Justice Omotosho explained that even if the lawsuit had been properly filed, the court could not grant their demands because prostitution is a criminal offense.
“This court wonders what kind of message the Applicant was sending when it decided to bring an action to protect prostitutes.
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. It is indeed shameful that the applicant should file an action like this.
The women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja or prostitutes or vagabonds are by their actions committing an offence, and thus their fundamental rights can be legally breached by the respondent.
Holding a different opinion would mean that a person arrested in the process of robbing others can claim to be entitled to his fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom.
This would cause anarchy and chaos In the society,” he said, adding assuming that prostitution is not an offense in the FCT, the rights of these prostitutes can legally be violated under Section 45 of the constitution, which allows the breach of a person’s right on the grounds of defence, public safety, public health, public order and public morality.
It is a known fact that prostitutes are some of the clearest examples of indecency in society, and they are champions of immorality through their immoral dressing, exposing sensitive parts of their bodies, their use of vulgar language as well as the chief culprits in spreading sexual diseases.
Allowing prostitutes to have free reign on the streets of Abuja will, in no time, destroy the moral fiber of the city and turn it into a hotbed of immorality.
This court will not allow such to happen,” he said, adding that the court was not unaware that prostitution had been legalized in some Western nations, including in the Netherlands, where prostitutes are now entitled to pensions and other benefits.
This is not so in Africa. The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, one of the Statutes enforced by the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, is clear on what fundamental rights are in Africa.”
The judge also stated that African culture plays a role in defining human rights and that prostitution goes against societal values. He described sex workers as “vagabonds” and supported the AEPB’s actions in arresting and prosecuting them, as they were creating a public nuisance in Abuja.
“This philosophy is what is known as cultural relativism in the framework of human rights. The counterpoint to this is universality, which posits that human rights should be the same in all places and should apply to persons irrespective of their culture, religion, race, gender or other differences.
The idea behind universalism is to ensure uniformity in human rights development. Universality of human rights directly led to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global human rights document.
While it is theoretically sound, universalism, if applied, would offend the unique cultures of some people. For instance, the right to same-sex marriage, which is acceptable in Western nations like the United Kingdom, will be deeply unacceptable to conservative and religious nations like Arab nations.
Thus, cultural relativism means that these nations can choose which of these rights to adopt or not. This explains why some conservative nations exercise their right to reservation regarding several sections of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which are in conflict with their cultural beliefs.
I daresay that prostitution is alien and has never been part of our culture. Prostitution or ‘Olosho’ and ‘Ashewo’ as the Yorubas call it, ‘Akwuna-Akwuna’ as the Igbos call it, ‘Karuwa’ as the Hausas call it or ‘Hookup’ as the young people say it, is alien to our culture.
It has been frowned upon as a deeply immoral act worthy of shame. The fact that civilisation and westernisation have taken some root in Nigeria still does not make it right. Even in some Western countries, prostitution is still seen as an immoral act.
In the United States of America, for instance, apart from a few counties in the state of Nevada, prostitution or sex work is illegal in the other 50 states of the US.
There is absolutely no justification for prostitution in Nigeria in the context of our cultural norms and tradition, and in fact, prostitution is an anathema in Africa.”
With this ruling, sex workers in Abuja remain at risk of arrest and prosecution, as prostitution continues to be illegal in Nigeria.
“I, therefore, hold that this application filed by the applicant has no basis and the rights claimed are unenforceable in light of the provisions of Section 45 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Preamble to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights,” the trial judge added.
