Borno Government Laments Rising Prostitution Among Former Boko Haram Captives Amid Ongoing Crisis
Borno State authorities have raised concerns over the increasing cases of prostitution among individuals previously held captive by Boko Haram, highlighting the severe social implications for the region. Lawan Wakilbe, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, emphasized that many of the released victims faced sexual exploitation due to their vulnerability while in captivity.
He pointed out that this troubling trend is particularly noticeable in the local government areas of Bama, Banki, and Gwoza. In a particularly unsettling account, Wakilbe described encountering an 11-year-old girl accompanied by three other children, a scene he found deeply troubling.
The commissioner also mentioned that young girls, aged 13 to 15, who had been repatriated from Cameroon, were found to have children, further illustrating the devastating impact of sexual abuse. He called for urgent efforts to reintegrate and support these victims, stressing that poverty and the lack of alternative means of survival are key drivers behind the exploitation.
Wakilbe’s remarks come amid ongoing challenges in Borno, a region still recovering from the Boko Haram insurgency, which has left over 50,000 people dead and displaced more than two million since 2009. The abduction of over 276 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok on April 14, 2014, remains a tragic chapter in this crisis, though some of the kidnapped girls have since been released.
