Women’s rights advocates have won a landmark ruling in the Abuja Federal High Court. Last December, a judge declared that sex work is not a criminal offence in a case brought by 16 women detained and allegedly tortured after being arrested for prostitution.
They were among 52 women arrested in 2017 when a ‘security task-force’ stormed apartments in the central Nigerian capital Abuja late at night. In her judgment, Justice Binta Nyako said that the force had acted unlawfully and ordered 100,000 naira ($275) compensation be paid to each of the claimants.
