Prostitution Prostitution laws in Nigeria
Nigeria has plural criminal law. In the south the Criminal Code punishes a "common prostitute" who solicits or behaves indecently in public (one month), men living on the earnings of prostitution, women controlling a sex worker for gain, procuring and keeping a brothel, but not selling or buying sex as such. The northern Penal Code has parallel soliciting, vagabond and brothel offences and an adultery offence for people under a customary law that criminalises extra-marital sex. Since 2000 twelve northern states have adopted Sharia penal codes that make all sex outside marriage zina, punishable by 100 lashes or stoning, and some passed separate laws banning prostitution; state hisbah (religious police) boards, notably Kano's, regularly arrest women accused of sex work.
Legal model
Legal, organisation banned. Selling and buying are legal, but brothels, procuring and organising are criminal offences.
Nigeria has two general penal laws. The Criminal Code (south) and the Penal Code (north) do not make selling or buying sex an offence as such, but punish public soliciting by a "common prostitute", living on earnings, procuring and brothels. The Penal Code also punishes adultery by people subject to a customary law that treats extra-marital sex as a crime. In the twelve Sharia states, Muslims are also subject to Sharia penal codes under which all sex outside marriage is zina, so prostitution is prohibited there (see subnational).[1][2][3][4]
Regional differences
- Sharia states (Zamfara, Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kebbi, Yobe, Kaduna, Niger, Gombe) Selling and buying prohibited: Between 2000 and 2003 these states enacted Sharia penal codes (Niger only amended its Penal Code) applied to Muslims in Sharia courts; non-Muslims are presumed to be tried under the Penal Code unless they opt in. Zina (sex with a person over whom one has no sexual rights) is punished by 100 lashes if unmarried and stoning if married, and covers both the sex worker and the client, though proof needs confession or four witnesses. The codes repeat the Penal Code's soliciting, male pimping and brothel offences with added lashes (brothel: up to one year and up to 70 lashes in the harmonised code; Kano and Katsina omit that section). Kano (2000), Yobe (2000) and Borno (2000) also passed laws banning prostitution, soliciting and brothels, with up to one year for a first offence in Kano. State hisbah boards, created to enforce Sharia compliance, arrest women accused of prostitution; Kano's board announced 15 such arrests in February 2024 and 10 among 22 arrests in September 2026, to be followed by prosecution.[3][4][5][6][7]
At a glance
| Question | Status | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Selling sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | Selling sex is not itself an offence under the Criminal Code or the Penal Code. A "common prostitute" who behaves in a disorderly or indecent manner in public, or loiters and persistently solicits for prostitution, is an idle and disorderly person liable to one month's imprisonment (Criminal Code s. 249; Penal Code ss. 405–406), with heavier penalties for repeat offenders as a rogue and vagabond. In the Sharia states selling sex is zina for Muslims.[1][2][4] |
| Buying sexual services | Legal | Neither the Criminal Code nor the Penal Code has an offence of paying for sex between adults. In the north the Penal Code's adultery offence (ss. 387–388) can apply to clients subject to a customary law that criminalises extra-marital sex, and in the Sharia states a Muslim client commits zina, punishable by 100 lashes or by stoning if married.[1][2][3][4] |
| Brothels and managed venues | Illegal Criminal offence | Keeping or managing a brothel, or knowingly letting or permitting premises to be used as one, is punishable under the Criminal Code by a fine of 100 naira or six months, and 300 naira or one year on a repeat conviction (s. 225B). A brothel is any premises or room kept for prostitution. The Penal Code punishes keeping or managing a brothel with up to one year or a fine (s. 201).[1][8] |
| Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping) | Illegal Criminal offence | A man who knowingly lives wholly or partly on the earnings of prostitution, or who persistently solicits in public for immoral purposes, faces two years and caning on a repeat conviction; a man who lives with or controls a sex worker is presumed to live on her earnings, and a woman who controls a sex worker's movements for gain faces two years (Criminal Code s. 225A). Procuring a woman or girl to become a "common prostitute" or to enter a brothel carries two years (s. 223).[1][2] |
| Advertising sexual services | Restricted Breach: criminal offence | No provision specifically on advertising sexual services was found in the Criminal Code or the Penal Code. Soliciting in public by a sex worker is an offence (Criminal Code s. 249), and distributing obscene articles, judged by whether they tend to deprave and corrupt, carries up to three years (s. 233D). Whether an online advertisement amounts to soliciting, procuring or obscenity has not been checked against case law.[1][8] |
The law in detail
Selling sexual services
Selling sex is not itself an offence under the Criminal Code or the Penal Code. A "common prostitute" who behaves in a disorderly or indecent manner in public, or loiters and persistently solicits for prostitution, is an idle and disorderly person liable to one month's imprisonment (Criminal Code s. 249; Penal Code ss. 405–406), with heavier penalties for repeat offenders as a rogue and vagabond. In the Sharia states selling sex is zina for Muslims.[1][2][4]
The Criminal Code defines prostitution as including "the offering by a female of her body commonly for acts of lewdness for payment". Under the Penal Code, a person subject to a customary law that treats extra-marital intercourse as a crime commits adultery (ss. 387–388, up to two years or a fine), which can reach a sex worker and a client in the north independently of the Sharia codes.
Confidence: medium. Criminal Code read in the 2004 Laws of the Federation as published by PLAC; Penal Code read in the Federal Capital Territory version (Cap. 53 LFN Abuja). Each northern state has its own Penal Code law and each southern state may have its own Criminal Law (e.g. Lagos), which were not checked.
Checked 30 October 2026
Buying sexual services
Neither the Criminal Code nor the Penal Code has an offence of paying for sex between adults. In the north the Penal Code's adultery offence (ss. 387–388) can apply to clients subject to a customary law that criminalises extra-marital sex, and in the Sharia states a Muslim client commits zina, punishable by 100 lashes or by stoning if married.[1][2][3][4]
Confidence: medium. Status describes the Criminal Code position in the south. How often clients are prosecuted under the adultery or zina provisions was not found.
Checked 30 October 2026
Brothels and managed venues
Keeping or managing a brothel, or knowingly letting or permitting premises to be used as one, is punishable under the Criminal Code by a fine of 100 naira or six months, and 300 naira or one year on a repeat conviction (s. 225B). A brothel is any premises or room kept for prostitution. The Penal Code punishes keeping or managing a brothel with up to one year or a fine (s. 201).[1][8]
Confidence: medium. Section 201 of the Penal Code was read in the annotated 1963 edition of the Northern Region law because the page is missing from the Abuja copy consulted; current state versions may set different penalties.
Checked 30 October 2026
Third parties profiting (procuring / pimping)
A man who knowingly lives wholly or partly on the earnings of prostitution, or who persistently solicits in public for immoral purposes, faces two years and caning on a repeat conviction; a man who lives with or controls a sex worker is presumed to live on her earnings, and a woman who controls a sex worker's movements for gain faces two years (Criminal Code s. 225A). Procuring a woman or girl to become a "common prostitute" or to enter a brothel carries two years (s. 223).[1][2]
The Penal Code treats a man who knowingly lives on a sex worker's earnings as a vagabond (s. 405(2)(d), up to two years under s. 407) and punishes buying, selling or hiring a person under 18 for prostitution with up to ten years (s. 278). Trafficking is a separate federal offence under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015, which was not opened.
Confidence: medium. The Criminal Code's living-on-earnings offence for men and its control offence for women are drafted on gendered lines, as quoted.
Checked 30 October 2026
Advertising sexual services
No provision specifically on advertising sexual services was found in the Criminal Code or the Penal Code. Soliciting in public by a sex worker is an offence (Criminal Code s. 249), and distributing obscene articles, judged by whether they tend to deprave and corrupt, carries up to three years (s. 233D). Whether an online advertisement amounts to soliciting, procuring or obscenity has not been checked against case law.[1][8]
Confidence: low. Classification inferred from general provisions. The Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015 and its 2024 amendment, and state-level Sharia laws on immoral publications, were not opened.
Checked 30 October 2026
Key legislation
| Law | What it does here | In force |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal Code Act, Cap. C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 Criminal Code Act (Cap. C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004) ss. 223–226 · ss. 233B–233D · ss. 249–250 | General criminal law of the southern states: procuration, living on earnings, brothels, idle and disorderly persons and obscene publications.[1] | |
| Penal Code Act, Chapter 53 LFN (Abuja) Penal Code Act (Cap. 53, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, Abuja) s. 201 · s. 278 · ss. 387–388 · ss. 405–408 | Version of the 1960 Northern Nigeria Penal Code in force in the Federal Capital Territory; the northern states apply their own equivalents. Covers brothels, adultery, minors in prostitution and vagabonds.[2] | |
| The Penal Code Law, Northern Region No. 18 of 1959, annotated (2nd edition, 1963) Penal Code Law, Northern Region No. 18 of 1959 (annotated, 1963) ss. 201–202 | Original text of the northern Penal Code, used here for the brothel and obscene publication sections.[8] | 30 September 1960 |
| The Centre for Islamic Legal Studies' Draft Harmonised Sharia Penal Code Annotated (Sharia Implementation in Northern Nigeria 1999–2006: A Sourcebook, vol. IV, ch. 4, part III) Harmonised Sharia Penal Code (Centre for Islamic Legal Studies), annotated against the enacted state codes ss. 125–126 · ss. 234–239 · s. 373 · ss. 376–378 | Model for the Sharia penal codes of the northern states; zina, brothel, soliciting and procuring provisions, with each state's variations.[3] |
Timeline
- 30 September 1960The Penal Code of the Northern Region, modelled on the Sudan and Indian penal codes, comes into operation.[3][5]
- 27 January 2000Zamfara's Sharia Penal Code Law 2000 comes into operation, the first of the northern Sharia penal codes; eleven more states follow by 2003.[3]
- June 2000Kano signs the Prostitution and Other Immoral Acts (Prohibition) Law, banning prostitution, soliciting and brothels.[4]
- 12 February 2024The Kano State Hisbah Board reports arresting 15 young women in Kano city over alleged prostitution.[6]
- 5 September 2026The Kano State Hisbah Board announces 22 arrests over an alleged illegal event, saying ten of the women were suspected sex workers and would be prosecuted.[7]
Sources
- Criminal Code Act, Cap. C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Laws of Nigeria. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- Penal Code Act, Chapter 53 LFN (Abuja). ILGA World Database (copy). legislation · accessed 30 October 2026
- The Centre for Islamic Legal Studies' Draft Harmonised Sharia Penal Code Annotated (Sharia Implementation in Northern Nigeria 1999–2006: A Sourcebook, vol. IV, ch. 4, part III). Philip Ostien (ed.), Spectrum Books / Sharia Debates in Africa, 2007. academic · accessed 30 October 2026
- Changes in the Law in the Sharia States Aimed at Suppressing Social Vices (Sharia Implementation in Northern Nigeria 1999–2006: A Sourcebook, vol. III, ch. 3, part II). Philip Ostien and M. J. Umaru, Spectrum Books / Sharia Debates in Africa, 2007. academic · accessed 30 October 2026
- Introduction to Chapter 4: The Sharia Penal Codes (Sharia Implementation in Northern Nigeria 1999–2006: A Sourcebook, vol. IV, ch. 4, part I). Philip Ostien (ed.), Spectrum Books / Sharia Debates in Africa, 2007. academic · accessed 30 October 2026
- Kano Hisbah confiscates beer truck, arrests 15 suspected prostitutes. Daily Trust, 12 February 2024. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- 22 arrested as Kano Hisbah foils alleged illegal event. P.M. News, 5 September 2026. news · accessed 30 October 2026
- The Penal Code Law, Northern Region No. 18 of 1959, annotated (2nd edition, 1963). Scanned edition hosted by anticor.world, 1963. legislation · accessed 30 October 2026