Metro

Court Dismisses Abuja Sex Workers’ Suit Against Wike

Published

9 months ago

March 12, 2025

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, declined to legalise prostitution in the country, even as it dismissed a suit that sought to enforce fundamental rights of commercial sex workers in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

The court, in a judgement that was delivered by Justice James Omotosho, while describing prostitution as an immoral act that is alien to the cultural values of all the ethnic groups in the country, said it found no reason to stop the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike and security agencies, from arresting those that engage in such illicit business.

According to the court, prostitutes have no legal rights to enjoy under any known law or the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.

The judgement followed a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/642/2024, which the sex workers filed to bar the FCT Minister and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board, AEPB, from harassing, intimidating, arresting and prosecuting them.

Aside from Wike and the AEPB, other respondents in the legal action initiated on behalf of Abuja-based prostitutes by a Nongovernmental Organization under the aegis of Lawyers Alert Initiative for Protection of Rights of Children, Women and Indigent were the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF.

Through their team of lawyers led by Mr. Rommy Mom, the Applicants prayed the court to enforce their right to prostitution, in line with all the fundamental human rights that were inured to them from the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Specifically, the urged the court to determine whether the duties of the AEPB under Section 6 of the AEPB Act, 1997, extend to the harassment, arrest, detention and prosecution of women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

Also, under the provision of Section 35 (1) (d) of the AEPB Act, 1997, women can be regarded as articles or their bodies regarded as goods for purchase.

Upon the determination of the questions, the Applicants sought a declaration that a charge the AEPB entered before the FCT Mobile Court, which referred to arrested women suspected of engaging in sex work as “articles” and considered their bodies as “goods for purchase,” was discriminatory and a violation of Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution.

They sought a declaration that the duties of the board do not extend to the harassment, arrest and raid of women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

A declaration that neither Section 6 of the AEPB Act, 1997, nor any extant laws of the country authorise the board to arrest women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

The applicants also prayed the court to restrain the AEPB, its agents or privies from harassing, arresting and raiding women suspected of engaging in sex work on the streets of Abuja.

Also, to make an order directing all the respondents to ensure the proper application of the provisions of the Abuja Environmental Protect Act, 1997, by the first respondent, AEPB.

However, in his judgement on Wednesday, Justice Omotosho held that under the criminal law also known as the Penal Code, commercial sex workers are liable to be arrested and prosecuted for a jail term of two years.

He held that their application was incompetent as it did not comply with the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009.

It was also the court’s position that the reliefs were not grantable, even as it dismissed the case for want of merit.

“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,” Justice Omotosho added.

Continuing, the judge said: “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 its 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.”

He held that, looking at the preamble to the charter, Africans’ culture must reflect their idea of what constitutes human rights.

“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.

Metro

Bandits Demand N500m As Ransom To Release 13 Kaduna Locals

Published

5 hours ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

The people of Kurama Chiefdom in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State have cried out over N500 million being demanded as ransom by bandits before the release of 13 residents of the area, including an ECWA Pastor.

They said that it was impossible for them to raise such an amount.

Gunmen had about two weeks ago stormed the villages of Gidan Yawa, Maiyamma, Jantsauni, and Maidoki around 10:30 pm, shooting three people dead and abducting thirty others in the night.

The bandits have now reduced their captives to thirteen and demanded the sum of N500 million before they are released.

The National Publicity Secretary of the Federated Kurama Association, Mr. Pius Again Kaura said, “We are finished. These are the breadwinners of their families; farmers, fathers, a pastor.

“And the bandits are asking for half a billion naira. Where will poor villagers find such money?

‎”Our people are helpless. We have no guns, no soldiers, no money. We are at the mercy of these killers.”

He explained that the affected villages are purely farmers that live on the outskirts of Yarkasuwa.

According to him, “This latest atrocity is only the most recent in a long chain of bloodshed visited upon the Kurama nation.

“In recent years, the District Head of Garun Kurama, the District Head of Gurzan Kurama, a Catholic priest of Yadin Garun Kurama Parish, the wife and son of the Lere LGA APC Chairman Hon. Jonathan Shekarau, and countless farmers have all been kidnapped or murdered. Many remain in captivity or were killed when ransom could not be paid.”

They appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and Governor Uba Sani to come to their rescue and ensure the victims are released and united with their families.

Metro

BREAKING: Bandits Abduct Teenage Boy, Six Girls From FCT Community

Published

6 hours ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

A 16-year-old boy and six girls have been abducted from Gidan-Bijimi in Kawu ward, Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

According to Daily Trust, Gidan-Bijimi shares a boundary with Marke village near the Kaduna State border.

A resident of Kawu, Suleiman Shuaibu, confirmed the incident to the Daily Trust via telephone on Thursday morning.

He said the armed bandits, carrying AK-47 rifles, invaded two houses in the community around 9:47 p.m., firing sporadically and abducting six young girls and a 16-year-old boy.

The attack threw the community into chaos, he noted.

He added that some vigilantes attempted to confront the attackers but were overwhelmed due to the bandits’ superior firepower.

Shuaibu also revealed that the abducted girls are aged between 17 and 23.

“It was around 9:53 pm when a call came from Gidan -Bijimi community that some bandits invaded the village and abducted six young girls, unfortunately my cousin sister happened to be among the victims,”he said.

He said some residents were forced to flee their homes after the incident, even as he said contact is yet to be established with the abductors.

Metro

Train Attack: Terrorist Leader Gave Mamu N50m From Ransom — DSS Operative

Published

19 hours ago

November 26, 2025

Editor

A Department of State Services (DSS) investigator has told the Federal High Court in Abuja that Tukur Mamu was offered a N50 million share by Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group, who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna-bound train in 2022.

The DSS operative, who testified as the 6th prosecution witness (PW-6) in the ongoing terrorism trial of Mamu, the alleged terrorists’ negotiator, told Justice Mohammed Umar while being led in evidence by the DSS lawyer, David Kaswe.

The witness, who gave his testimony behind a witness screen for security reasons, said the group also asked Mamu to teach them how to open a website for their terrorist activities.

He stated this while interpreting four voice notes played in the courtroom containing the defendant’s telephone interactions with the terrorists who held the abducted train passengers hostage.

The audio recordings were extracted from Mamu’s mobile telephones during interrogation after he was arrested in Egypt and brought back to Nigeria.

“The first voice note that played was for the defendant (Mamu) fixing a date for the delivery of the ransom.

“The second voice note that played for five minutes was the voice of Shugaba, the leader of the terrorist group.

“In the voice note, he was appreciating the defendant’s effort and asked him to remove N50 million for his personal use from a particular tranche of ransom sent to them.

“The last voice note that played, Baba Adamu, who is their spokesperson, was heard requesting the defendant to help them procure speakers and a public address system for their preaching activities, and the defendant responded that he was going to look into their request.

“They also requested that the defendant teach them how to open a website for their activities,” the witness said.

Mamu was alleged to have convinced the terrorists to discuss ransom payments with individual families of the hostages of the train attack instead of the Chief of Defense Staff Committee set up by the Federal Government for his personal financial gain.

The defendant was said to have been nominated by the terrorists who attacked the train sometime in March 2022, where scores of passengers were held hostage.

Mamu was alleged to have collected ransoms on behalf of a terror group from families of hostages, confirmed the amount, and facilitated the delivery of the same to them.

The PW-6, while being led in evidence by the prosecuting lawyer, Kaswe, told the court that after Mamu was brought back from Egypt, he submitted his Samsung tablet and two phones to DSS officials.

The witness, who said he was part of those who investigated the case, told the court that when the defendant was intercepted in Egypt, he put a call to his in-law, identified as Mubarak Tinja and directed him to move out all his valuables, comprising of cash, cars and other items of values, from his house to a safe location, to avoid detection by security agents.

“The defendant was subsequently arrested in Egypt and returned back to Nigeria, where a team of investigators was on the ground to receive him.

“A duly endorsed search warrant was executed in his property and office in Kaduna, during which cash, in both local and foreign currencies, vehicles, and other valuables were recovered.

“In compliance with his directive to his in-law, Mubarak Tinja, and the other dependants in the house, some cars and cash were moved out of the house to various locations,” he said.

He said investigators later traced and located some of the items, including about 300,000 US dollars, about seven cars, including a Toyota Camry (Muscle), a Peugeot 5008, a Lexus, a Mercedes E350, and a Hyundai car.

Vehicle documents relating to the cars were later tendered by the prosecution through the witness, which the court admitted in evidence.

The witness added that when the defendant was brought back to the country, he “handed his Samsung tablet and two of his phones to our exhibit keeper, who sent them to our forensic department for forensic analysis.

“The outcome of the forensic analysis, which included the voice notes of the conversation between the defendant and the terrorists, was part of the content that was presented to the interrogation team and the items recovered from his home.

“He (the defendant) was subsequently interviewed, during which the content of his phones and other items were presented to him.

“During the interview, the defendant admitted giving instruction to Mubarak to move his belongings from his house.

“He also admitted communicating with the terrorists, using his voice notes, which were extracted from his two phones and Samsung tablet.”

He added that the defendant also admitted owning a pump-action gun, which was recovered from his house, which he claimed was duly licensed.

The witness, however, told the court that investigators later discovered that the licence expired in December 2021, nine months before he was arrested.

The DSS operative said about 98 per cent of the conversation on the voice notes is in Hausa Language, some of which were translated to English by him, because there were too many.

Kaswe then applied to tender the recorded voice notes stored on compact disk plates and flash drives, which the court admitted, after Mamu’s counsel, Johnson Usman, reserved his objection until the final address.

The recorded conversations were played in the courtroom.

The witness added that in the course of the investigation, two victims volunteered written statements in which they recounted their experiences.

He said one of the statements was written in English and the other in Hausa.

He, however, said that the victims, a male and female, were no longer available, because they expressed their unwillingness to attend court to testify because of fear and trauma.

The court admitted the statements of the victims in evidence and marked them as exhibits after it was not opposed by Usman.

The court also admitted in evidence eight statements made to investigators by Mamu and video recordings of the statement-writing sessions.

Kaswe then informed the court that he would be bringing a formal application for the court to visit where the items recovered from Mamu’s house and office are kept.