By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation in Borno State, Lawan Wakilbe, has lamented the alarming rate at which teenagers are embracing prostitution as a means of livelihood in the state.
Wakilbe identified most of these teenage prostitutes as former Boko Haram captives
While raising the alarm over the prevalence of prostitution among these demographics, the commissioner blamed the sexual abuse they were subjected to while in the dens of the terrorists for the unpleasant development.
The commissioner said this during a courtesy visit by Hamsatu Allamin, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Allamin Foundation for Peace, on Saturday in Maiduguri.
Wakilbe said cases of prostitution are prevalent in Bama, Banki, and Gwoza LGAs.
He added that some of the freed victims were exposed to sexual abuse due to their vulnerability while in the terrorists’ den.
“I recently encountered an 11-year-old girl surrounded by three children. It was heartbreaking. The Cameroonian authorities repatriated young girls aged 13 to 15 with multiple children,” he said.
“These vulnerable individuals need urgent reintegration and support.” He added that the spate of sexual abuse could be “attributed to poverty and lack of viable alternatives for survival”.
Recall that Alabout 276 girls were kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno state on April 14, 2014 during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Since then, a number of them have regained freedom.
57 of the girls escaped on the night they were kidnapped, while three of the girls were later found.
Twenty-one of the girls were released in October, 2016 while 82 were released on May 6.
More have regained freedom over the past few years.
The insurgency has led to the deaths of more than 50,000 people in Nigeria’s north-east region and the displacement of over two million from their homes since 2009.
