Some residents of Awka, Anambra State have commended the state government for sealing a hotel, following a viral sex video which allegedly emanated from the facility.
The residents, who commended the government for wading in to conduct proper investigation into the ugly incident, pleaded with the state government to avoid measures that could kill businesses and discourage investors.
A group, still at large, had hired the annexe section of the hotel for a party which later degenerated into an open sex orgy by the pool side. A recorded video of the sex scene was sent online with the sender gleefully stating the location of the incident. This sparked widespread condemnation among people within and outside the state, which led to the intervention of the Anambra State government, which immediately sealed the facility.
An Awka resident, Smith Obodozie, said while it was important to streamline operations of hotels and pubs in the growing capital city, it was also important to protect businesses.
Obodozie regretted the bad image created by the content of the video and called on hotel operators to evolve a more proactive check against unhealthy social and moral activities.
“We must be reminded that we are talking about the entertainment industry in a fast changing world, technology is also doing a lot of damage and you know, it is difficult to predict human behaviours, especially adults.
“So, my advice is that the government should not kill businesses or discourage investors because if you go about shutting everywhere, there won’t be an economy to operate,” he said.
On her part, Jacinta Ene, an entrepreneur, said the development was unfortunate, but not strange. He noted that there was a new and unfortunate trend in Awka, where unscrupulous persons try to run down businesses by videos of real and imagined events and sending them out in the social media.
“Remember just about two weeks ago, there was a video where somebody said that a popular eatery (name withheld) was serving customers the sacred python, which was forbidden in most areas of Anambra.
“But the same person later came back to apologise to the owner that it was a mischief sponsored by some detractors somewhere and I understand he is being investigated with his accomplices.
“My opinion is that those responsible, those who staged the pool sex party should be apprehended, investigated and punished instead of shutting down businesses and creating more unemployment,” she said.
Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Restaurant and Bar Owners, Anambra State chapter, Bonny Akunna, said the closure was in order, but should have come after investigation was concluded.
Akunna said Africans had moral values and would naturally frown at such obscene videos with anybody involved, but called on the government to consider the economy around the business.