11 women docked over sex hawking

Eleven women were on Friday arraigned in a Tinubu Magistrates' Court in Lagos, charged with hawking sex.  The accused people have no fixed address in Lekki, Lagos.

They are Edet Akpan, 24, Jennifer Benjamin, 40, Naomi Jonah, 35, Rosemary Efosa, 27, Rita Igwe, 33, Esther Ohima, 35, Joy John, 34, Ayo Esan, 33, Blessing Omezie, 35, Shola Oni, 29, and Blessing Andrew, 27.
The Prosecutor, SP Austin Orji, told the court that the accused persons committed the offence at about 2.00 a.m. on Nov. 21, at Victoria Island, Lagos.

``The accused were loitering for the purpose of engaging in sex hawking and were picked up within different streets in Victoria Island,’’ Orji said.

Orji told the court that the seventh accused, Joy John, had appeared before the court on Nov. 11.

He said that John was charged with the same offence and was sentenced to 200 hours community service when she absconded, before she was caught again.

The first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth and 11 accused pleaded not guilty to the charge while the third, seventh, eight, ninth and 10th accused pleaded guilty to the charge.

The Magistrate, Mrs S.K. Matepo, said: ``justice demands balancing and we must adhere strictly to the laws’’.

Matepo adjourned the case of Jonah, John, Esan, Omezie and Oni, who pleaded guilty, till Nov. 25.

She granted Akpan, Benjamin, Efosa, Igwe, Ohima and Andrew, who pleaded not guilty, N50,000 bail with two ``reasonable and reliable'' sureties in like sum.

Matepo adjourned the case till Dec. 4 for mention.

Information from NAN was used in this report.