Permanent Commissioner II in charge of Hisbah and Shariah matters in Bauchi State, Aminu Isah, has assured that commercial sex workers the state would be received back into the society if they stop the business.
Speaking to the PUNCH on why the commission intends to repatriate commercial sex workers from Bauchi to their states and local governments of origin, he said they would not compel anyone to come back home, as they have the constitutional right to reside wherever they choose to.
“Finally, we agreed to organise a programme of repatriation with their consent, because we cannot compel anybody because of the constitutional right they have.
“We are going to do it in a diplomatic way after we finish the census and we get a comprehensive data of all the commercial sex workers resident in that area and the owners of those particular houses; we are going to repatriate them with their consent, but we will liaise with the state governments, where these people come from and hand them over to the various state governments, so that they can reunite them with their families; that is the second effort after the sensitisation workshop we had,” he said.
After paying visit to some of them he decried that : “They will be criminals and a threat to society and this touched my mind that first day I visited the place. During my interactions with them, I asked one lady if she knew the real father of the baby she was breastfeeding and she said no. She told me that at times, she slept with up to 10 men daily and there was no way she would be able to know who got her pregnant and these are the kind of things you find there.
“These are very pathetic and very touching issues. Most of the girls I interviewed there are between the ages of 15 and 25, and as a commission, will do everything possible to see that will bring an end to such in the society”.
