Amnesty International as well as a former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, have condemned the clampdown on sex workers by the police and the Federal Capital Territory authorities.
According to AI, the raids are discriminatory because only women are being arrested.
The organisation wrote on Twitter, “The raids and abuse targeted women, hence discriminatory and are gender-based violence. We are calling FCT and police authorities to investigate allegations of abuse of the women.
“Amnesty International is concerned by a spate of arrests and humiliation of women by FCT officials and the police, in some parts of Abuja. These arrests clearly show unacceptable deliberate targeting of women.”
In a series of tweets, Odinkalu also condemned the raids, insisting that prostitution was not a crime.
The activist said many women were wrongly accused of being sex workers when in fact this was not true.
The former NHRC boss wrote, “Some folks still think in 2019 that it’s OK for people claiming to wear uniforms provided by Nigerians or in our name to abduct women from clubs, calling them prostitutes. First, as shocking as it may sound, being a ‘prostitute’ – whatever that means – is actually not a crime.
“Second, there’s no ‘prostitute’ exception to the fundamental rights in the constitution. In particular, the rights to dignity of the human person and to personal liberty apply to all persons within Nigeria, not just to those whom we like.