Festus Abu

The Ogun State Government has moved to crack down on  prostitution at the stadiums owned by the state.

The development comes on the heels of a report by Saturday PUNCH that the  MKO Abiola Stadium in  Abeokuta had been converted into a sex hotspot.

Fun-seekers, according to the report,  throng the stadium,  particularly on Friday nights,    to  wind down.

Teenage prostitutes are said to have taken advantage of the development to do  brisk  trade, with men paying between N500 and N1,000 for  quickies in a dark corner in  the complex.

However,  the state government has decided it was time to call a halt to the occurrence and avoid further embarrassment by coming down hard on sex trade  at   the MKO, Ijebu Ode, Sagamu and Ilaro stadiums.

And the  Ministry of Youth and Sports  has also announced that it had joined forces with  the Ministry of  Women’s Affairs and Social Development to fight prostitution in the state.

Spokesman for the sports ministry Akinbobola Adeniyi said the police and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons are also involved in the fight against prostitution in the state.

He said the state government on Friday inaugurated  an eight-man committee “with the mandate to eradicate the menace”.

According to him, the committee is headed by the sports commissioner Afolabi Afuape, with women’s  affairs  commissioner Mrs. Abiola Kufile  playing a major role.

“The ministry has always been against prostitution across the state,  especially within its four stadiums,” Afuape was quoted as saying  in a statement by Adeniyi.

“The committee swung into action by sensitising shop owners and  underage girls at the  MKO Abiola Stadium. Our plans is that anybody arrested after the sensitisation would be enrolled for   programmes that will add value to their life.”

On her part, Kufile said  the state  government  was  determined to wage  war against  prostitution  in  the  state.

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