Sex workers go into hiding across Umuahia as Governor Ikpeazu orders clampdown on brothels

COMMERCIAL sex workers are no longer available in the Abia State capital Umuahia after all of them went into hiding following a clampdown after Governor Okezie Ikpeazu issued a directive ordering the shutting down of all brothels in the city.

 

Earlier this week, Governor Ikpeazu ordered the immediate shutting down of all the brothels in the city, most of which are located on Orlu, Kaduna, and Arochukwu streets in Umuahia. He then asked the police to arrest any commercial sex workers seen on the streets, which has forced them all into hiding where they now live in palpable fear.

 

Governor Ikpeazu also directed the immediate prosecution of proprietors of several facilities, including joints where illicit drugs were sold. According to the Abia State government, brothels and drug joints had been turned into a hideout for hoodlums from where they rob and molest innocent citizens, especially at night.

 

Since Monday when the clampdown started, some of the major brothels that used to be a beehive of activities in Umuahia have been empty and under lock and key. Normally busy facilities such as Classy Guest House, National Hotel, Daba Inn and Freedom Hotel, all located on Orlu Street are not ghost premises.

 

Other brothels vacated by the girls include Amala Guest House, located on Lagos Street and Universal Social Centre on Cameroun Street. However, at Connection Bar on Imo Lane, a number of the sex workers were seen attending to their male customers but the girls took to their heels when they heard the sound of a siren but it was a false alarm as the sound came from a bank bullion van.

 

One of the sex workers described their experience as horrifying, saying that security operatives had been preying on them since the order was given by the state government. It is not clear if the ban is sustainable over the long term, as Umuahia is notorious for its fun-filled night life.

Share