Nigerian commercial sex workers in Sokoto State are at war with their counterparts from neighbouring Republic of Niger and Togo.
Nigerian prostitutes are calling on Immigration Officials to arrest and deport the foreign prostitutes because they are snatching their customers and also operating illegally in the country.
“We want them out because most of our customers are Hausa who prefer them to us,” says one of the prostitutes at Mammy Market, Sokoto.
She explained that an average prostitute pays at least N8,500 a week for a one-room accommodation and security, “which means we must sleep with at least four men a day as we charge N500 for short time,” she said.
Another lady who gave her name as Ngozi said another reason they wanted Nigerien and Togolese prostitutes out of the business was because they spread sexually transmitted diseases.
“All the foreign prostitutes here are HIV positive. We know their status,” she claimed.
When contacted, some of the prostitutes from Niger Republic described the action of their hosts as bordering on envy and jealousy.
Jamila, a tall and slim prostitute with long hair, said she came to Nigeria to make money and their services are cheaper than those offered by the Nigerian girls.
“That’s why men rush to us,” she said.
Jamila, who spoke in Hausa said there are over 1,000 of them operating in Sokoto and most of them have their residency permits.
Last week, the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, Sokoto Command began a massive crackdown on illegal aliens from Benin Republic, Togo and Niger. More than 500 illegal aliens were deported by the Sokoto command of NIS last week.
According to sources at the NIS, Sokoto, thousands of illegal aliens enter the country without following immigration procedures. They merely take advantage of Nigeria’s porous borders.
The NIS noted that the aliens entered Sokoto state mostly through Ilella and entered Kebbi State through the Kamba border town.
The male illegal immigrants are usually employed as security guards while their female counterparts serve a petty traders and domestic servants. But the majority of the young girls operate in brothels as prostitutes, our sources said.
In an interview with our correspondent, the Public Relations Officer, PRO of citizens from the Sokoto NIS, Mallam Shehu confirmed the arrest and deportation of the aliens.
He added that the NIS was working towards the proper documentation of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, in Nigeria.
Shehu stated that the exercise will be a continuous and would be carried out nationwide.
“All the states of the federation will be involved in the efforts to rid the nation of illegal aliens,” the NIS PRO said.

—Aliyu Musa/Sokoto