Bauchi state government to conduct census on sex workers in the state

The Bauchi state government has concluded plans to conduct a headcount of commercial sex workers in the state with a view to having accurate data on them.

This was according to a statement by Aminu Balarabe-Isah, Permanent Commissioner in charge of Hisbah and Sharia implementation, during a sensitization workshop organized for commercial sex workers in the state on Monday, April 12.


Isah said the information generated from the exercise would help the commission in taking measures aimed at discouraging them from continuing with their ‘dangerous’ trade and also organise empowerment programmes for them and then provide them with capital to start small scale businesses.


He explained that investigations conducted by his agency indicated that most of the sex workers took to prostitution as a result of illiteracy, poverty or maltreatment meted on them by their step-mothers. He said that minor family squabbles also contributed to their decision to take to prostitution, assuring that government would make efforts to reunite them with their parents. Speaking on behalf of the other sex workers, Hafsatu Azare, said they are all willing to quit the trade on the condition that the Federal government empowers them economically.