Many young women and girls are caught in the web of commercial sex trade in the nation’s seat of power, Abuja, daring the attendant dangers, Daily Trust on Sunday reports.
Every night, thousands of women and girls in Nigeria stand the risk of numerous dangers and even death in the practice of trading their bodies for money to total strangers they meet on the streets.
While viewed as a morally unacceptable practice across Nigerian societies, and illegal especially in northern states that are governed by the Sharia law; these girls have chosen a tightrope walk, hanging their lives on the line for fleeting gains that often lead to painful consequences.
According to a 2020 Statista online report, the estimated number of sex workers in 10 states of Nigeria was about 874,000. These figures represent only a fraction of the total across 36 states and the Federal capital Territory.
In Abuja, the nation’s capital, though there are no official records of the number of sex workers that roam the streets at night; reports indicate an increase in their activities in major areas like Gwarimpa, Kubwa, Utako, Jabi, Wuse Zone 4, Wuse 2, Garki II, among other places.
In this report, Daily Trust on Sunday examined the dangers of commercial sex trade as an interview with some commercial sex workers in Abuja’s Garki II area revealed fearful and regretful experiences.
Located in the Garki II area of Abuja, the Lagos Street vicinity is known for its bubbling commercial activities in the daytime, as well as a pulsating night life. But beyond the mercantile lies another trade that is perfectly masked in the darkness of night.
Joy (not her real name) is a 32-year-old dark skinned single mother of one, who lives at Lungun Gurguwa, one of the sub streets that branches off from Lagos Street.
Being in the commercial sex trade for about eight years, Joy recounts years of regrets and pain as she spoke about near death experiences encountered in the hands of clients she met on Lagos Street, as well as recounting how one of the sex workers on the street sadly lost her life in the process.
While brushing off tears from her eyes, Joy narrated how a client had picked her up one evening from Lagos Street, on their way to Gwarimpa but drove to Apo Roundabout.
“When we reached the transformer location, after finishing everything in his car; he removed his pistol and wanted to shoot me. He then asked me to get down from his car and it was at midnight. Since I had nobody to help me, I just got off the car,” she said.
Credit: Daily Trust
