Rescued Boko Haram victims turn to prostitution for survival – Gov’t
The Borno State Government has lamented the high rate of prostitution among former Boko Haram captives.
Citing the trend as a significant social challenge, Lawan Wakilbe, the State Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, expressed deep concern, highlighting how some freed victims were subjected to sexual exploitation during their time in captivity, leaving them vulnerable to further abuse.
He said prostitution is reportedly widespread in areas like Bama, Banki, and Gwoza, where many returnees have settled. Wakilbe shared a distressing story involving an 11-year-old girl, describing the incident as heartbreaking.
He further revealed that Cameroonian authorities recently repatriated girls, aged 13 to 15, many of whom had multiple children, emphasising the severity of the crisis.
“The widespread sexual abuse is fueled by poverty and the lack of viable survival alternatives,” Wakilbe explained, emphasising the urgent need for reintegration and support programmes for these individuals.
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The situation adds to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Borno State, where the Boko Haram insurgency has caused extensive suffering.
Over 276 girls were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok in 2014, with some later freed, but the scars of that event persist.
Since 2009, the insurgency has claimed over 50,000 lives and displaced more than two million people in northeast Nigeria.
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