An Abuja Federal High Court, presided over by Justice James Kolawole Omotosho, has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at securing the rights of commercial sex workers to operate without harassment from security agencies. In his ruling, Justice Omotosho held that prostitution is not recognized as a legal right under any Nigerian law or the Constitution. He further stated that sex workers could be arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to two years in prison under the Penal Code. The case was filed by the Lawyers Alert Initiative for Protection of Rights of Children, Women, and Indigent against the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), the FCT Minister, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). In the suit, marked THC/ABJ/CS/642/2024, the plaintiffs sought to prevent the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the AEPB from harassing, arresting, or prosecuting sex workers in Abuja. They argued that prostitution was a fundamental human right protected under Nigerian law. Filed on May 14, 2024, by lawyers Rommy Mom, Bamidele Jacobs, and Victor Eboh, the suit posed two key questions, including whether the AEPB’s mandate under Section 6 of its 1997 Act extends to the arrest and prosecution of women suspected of engaging in sex work. “Whether by 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?,” the judge was also asked to determine.