PROSTITUTION IN A’IBOM: EXPOSING THE POLICE (1)

PROSTITUTION IN A’IBOM: EXPOSING THE POLICE (1)

By Ofonime Honesty

A'IBOM POLICE COMMISSIONER MURITALA MANI

To begin this piece, a trip down memory alley is necessary. In July 2016, President Barrack Hussein Obama of the United States of America reviewed the impact of drone strikes on territories believed to be breeding zones for terrorists. While revealing that between 2009 and 31 December 2015, his administration launched 473 drone strikes which killed roughly 2,581 terrorists, Obama remorsefully acknowledged that between 64 and 116 civilians were killed during the period under review. He “profoundly regretted” the civilian deaths and sympathized with their family members and loved ones.

President Obama is the most powerful man on earth. His country is the most powerful nation on earth and the armed forces which he superintends are the most powerful on earth. And when the world’s most powerful man apologizes for the wrong-doing masterminded by the most powerful armed forces on the face of this planet, lessons must be learnt. Such action deserves to be used as a template by those entrusted with the privilege of safeguarding lives and properties.   

Well, somewhere in Nigeria, precisely in Uyo - the capital city of Akwa Ibom State, a gory incident hatched by officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police, once again underlined the fact that we are bad students of decorum. And like a scene from a Hollywood block-buster, police officers swooped on defenseless persons mostly Youth Corps members celebrating with friends after a successful service year.

The location was Ewet Housing Estate. The police stormed eateries and drinking parlours, harassed, destroyed valuables and arrested over 56 persons on grounds that they are prostitutes and prostitutes’ clients. Like demons from the pit of hell, the trigger-happy officers went gaga, shooting indiscriminately into the air. A mobile phone captured video uploaded on the internet showed the armed to the teeth officers kicking a guy’s butt severally and thereafter shoving him into a waiting van. Those arrested have since been charged to court and very hefty wads of cash have been paid as bail by those who could afford.

Yes, prostitution is illegal in Nigeria. Yes, a red light district exists at Ewet Housing Estate. But what gives Police the audacity to ransack eateries and drinking parlours, destroy valuables, attack innocent persons, arrest them and label them as prostitutes and prostitutes’ clients? The Police took the fight to the wrong place. Are the police pretending that they don’t know the actual brothels in Uyo and environs? (More on this later)

And it wouldn’t have mattered much if the Police came out to issue an apology over the gory incident. Instead the Police Public Relations Officer, Cordelia Nwawe, was firing from all cylinders when a Radio station phoned her to hear the Police’s side of the story. Nwawe did not mince words. She refused to see her colleagues’ fault. In her words, “the police will offer no apology for the incident. We will go back there for another raid.” 

Right thinking minds should question why prostitution in this state is practiced right under the noses of the police. KU Guest House located at Nsikak Eduok Avenue (Two Lanes) is a very popular brothel in Uyo. It is just a five minutes distance from the State Police Headquarters.

At Ibom Plaza by Ikot Ekpene Road, there is a brothel. Any passerby can readily see aging women fit to be grand mums flaunting mammary glands and pot bellies designed by stretch marks in a bid to lure clients. At the same Plaza, there is a Police Station. At Itam, a brothel is just few electricity poles away from the police station. Cephas Place located at Enwe Street is in the heart of town. Another popular sex company, Diamond Garden Hotel and Suites, located along Aka Nung Udoe Road is reportedly owned by an official of the Department of State Security (DSS).   

Checks also reveal that brothels exist at Ekpenyong Street, Ikpa Road, Nwaniba Road, Oron Road and Edet Akpan Avenue.  The consensus belief is that the proprietors of these brothels do pay weekly levies to police to allow them operate. This stance was reinforced few months ago when I interviewed prostitutes at the Bluemoon Hotel in Abak Local Government Area. They (prostitutes) confessed that each of them pay N 1000 weekly dues for “police protection.” At Bluemoon, sex is sold at 400 Naira by the scarlet ladies including seemingly underage girls. Till this very moment, security agents have not deemed it fit to raid Bluemoon. At Etinan Town, there is a notorious brothel known as Oyoto. Oyoto is roughly a ten minutes distance from the Etinan Divisional Police Station. Places like Ikot Ekpene, Eket, Ibeno and Oron are very much lucrative terrains for scarlet ladies.

The Police can’t pretend not to know these places. Recently, when I led a team of journalists for an undercover trip to KU Guest House at Nsikak Eduok Avenue, Uyo, mobile policemen were seen frolicking with the scarlet ladies.

Also, are the police not aware that the gate-houses at several hotels in Ewet Housing Estate have been converted to brothels? Few weeks ago, a team of journalists (myself inclusive) went on an investigation and gathered concrete evidence on this. At one of the hotels, the Managing Director went on his knees pleading innocence and promised to take desirous action against employees responsible for it. If the police deem it necessary, I will reveal the list of the indicted hotels to them.

The police should discard their cosmetic approach and devise foolproof strategies to curb this illicit trade. From the moment this piece will hit public sphere, I will monitor and ascertain whether police will raid the places mentioned. In fact, the raid is long overdue.

The continued existence of places like Bluemoon Hotel in Abak and other chalets places a moral burden on the police. It also rubbishes that needless raid of a wrong target at Ewet Housing Estate.

Arresting every Tom, Dick and Harry at eateries, extorting monies and other valuables from them and even going as far as suing them, is a crude tactic. The police should stop infringing on the rights of innocent citizens.  Those arrested were rough handled and later charged to court.  Charged to court under which law? Things like this can only happen in this clime! 

As I continued reminiscing on this issue, something told me that police officers in Akwa Ibom are as slow as the elephant on the logo of the Nigeria Police.