Concerns are rising as young ladies suspected to be commercial sex workers now loiter around major shopping malls and highbrow streets in Lagos to lure prospective customers.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the skimpily-dressed ladies usually position themselves in strategic locations within the malls to lure men.

Our correspondents who visited places such as Ikeja City Mall, Festival Mall and Allen Avenue observed that ladies suspected to be between the ages of 20 and 30 were lurking around the premises to woo prospective customers.

One of our correspondents who visited ICM around 10pm on Saturday was accosted by no fewer than three different young ladies in revealing and sexually enticing blouses.

Our correspondent who pretended to be interested gathered that the prices being charged by the sex workers vary from one person to another and other factors such as the duration and the location of the venue.

For instance, it was learnt that a short time romp within the area would cost N15,000, while an overnight stay at our correspondent’s choice of place would cost N30,000, excluding transportation costs.

When our correspondent asked how much it would cost for a weekend, one of the ladies replied, “N50,000 from Friday to Sunday morning. You will pay for my transport fare to your place.”

The situation is similar at the Festival Mall in the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of the state.

Fearing that the surge in the activities of the suspected call girls, pretending to be visiting the premises for shopping, residents claimed the ladies’ activities in the area were capable of causing serious security breaches in the area.

A resident identified as Precious claimed young girls used the mall daily to engage in all manner of sexual immoralities.

“There are days that I see young girls doing all sorts of things because of money, especially during weekends. It is sometimes alarming, but there is nothing we can do about it,” Precious said.

A security guard identified simply as Peter said they were used to seeing the ladies around, adding that some of them even sleep with men inside their cars.

“Some of them even have sexual intercourse inside cars. When you ask them why they are engaging in such immoral acts, they will insult you, telling you it’s none of your business,” he said.

A man simply identified as Dan said, “If you see what we see here, especially at night, when it is 8.30 pm or 9 pm, it is always an eyesore because you will see the way people are paired up, in twos and threes, doing all manner of things.”

At Allen Avenue, Ikeja, ladies in different shapes stood by both sides of the roads, beckoning at every male passerby and waving down vehicles going in and out of the street.

A man who claimed to be familiar with the ladies’ activities and charges told one of our correspondents on condition of anonymity that a short time fun during a downpour in places not far from Allen Avenue could go as low as N5,000.

“It is a little cheaper during a downpour because they barely get customers. So if you are lucky, you can get one of them for as low as N5,000,” he said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, was not available to comment on the security issues being raised by the residents as of the time of filing this report. (The PUNCH)

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