By Ghazali Ibrahim
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to protect the rights of commercial sex workers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from harassment, intimidation, arrest, and prosecution by the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike.
The lawsuit was filed by the Incorporated Trustee of Lawyers Alert Initiative for Protecting the Rights of Children, Women, and the Indigent, seeking to stop the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) from arresting and prosecuting commercial sex workers.
Justice James Omotosho, who presided over the case, ruled that the application was incompetent under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009.
He also stated that even if the application was competent, the reliefs sought were not grantable and thus dismissed the case for lack of merit.
The judge emphasized that prostitution is illegal under the Penal Code and that those engaging in it are committing an offense.
He also expressed concern that allowing prostitutes to operate freely would undermine the moral fabric of society.
