Abstract:
This article examines the interplay between prostitution, injection drug use
and the spread of HIV/Aids in Nigeria. It also considers how Nigerian criminal
law and the unfriendly social attitude to prostitution and illicit drug use
vitiate the control of HIV/Aids. The article stresses the need for Nigerian
criminal law to maintain a ‘soft stance’ on sex workers and drug users in order
to accommodate their needs and vulnerabilities relating to HIV/Aids. It
underscores the need to put the overall public health interest in effectively
controlling the spread ofHIV over and above the social aversion to prostitution
and illicit drug use – an aversion which Nigerian criminal law reflects
and reinforces.
