Investigation: Inside Maiduguri juvenile sex trade

Teenagers need drugs to operate - Seller One of the drug dealers in the area said the girls and even their clients needed drugs to operate.

He said, “It is a good business. The government should know the implication of subjecting citizens to untold hardships. This tells you the level of decay and neglect in the society.

“I sell to everyone – young and old. For me, I help them to get over their worries and at least earn a living. Nobody wants to die of hunger.

“I am aware it is very dangerous, but we have no other job to do. And without such drugs, most of these girls would not prostitute.”

He said the drugs usually eliminated initial fears in most of the girls.

“Once they become high, they are easily manipulated and can face any man without fear,” he explained.

One of the clients who spoke to our correspondent said they usually got girls of 13 and 14 years on request, adding, “They are easier to get. Some clients even ask for virgins, but you can’t find them here. We usually find them from the neighborhood for quick sex and they return home.

“Majority of the customers are soldiers and other uniformed men. In exchange, they give us cover and make us aware of any planned operation. They only come here to arrest their men and few unlucky girls.”

Dismissed security personnel, influential men own the brothels

Investigation by our correspondent also revealed that owners of the brothels in the area are well connected people and security operatives that served in Maiduguri, who were either dismissed or retired.

“One of them called Kenneth, a well known person in Maiduguri, has the largest brothel here. The other one is Ifeanyi, who is either a retired or dismissed soldier. The other guy is called Doctor; he works at the teaching hospital. The owner of the brothel inside the Shagari Low-cost community is called Monday.

“In fact, the Shagari Low-cost as a community is gradually becoming a brothel itself. You will see these girls and their men making love inside uncompleted structures,” he said.

Another person said, “It may be shocking to know that I can call a mother now and she will arrange her daughters for me. This is how bad it has become.”

Thugs, harlots, soldiers operate till dawn – Residents

Residents of the area said Kasuwar Fara was supposed to close by 11:00pm but the time was reviewed downward (9pm) by security operatives. However, curiously, the new closing time is only for people doing legitimate businesses as the activities of harlots and drug addicts, dealers and soldiers remain till dawn.

“The soldiers told us that they were closing this place by 9pm to curtail the activities of criminals, prostitutes and drug dealers, but by 10pm you will see them soldiers in their midst, befriending the girls, drinking and smoking.

“If you want to know the truth, come to Shagari Low-cost by 10pm. As you are coming into Kasuwan Fara, by your left you will see criminals, harlots and soldiers, either serving or dismissed,” one of the residents said.

He said that since the closure of brothels in Wulari, Bayan Kwatas, Tudu Palace and other places, all the harlots, drug addicts and criminals in Maiduguri relocated to Kasuwar Fara.

“They now constitute a lot of nuisance in Shagari Low-cost A and B communities. And both males and females take hard drugs. They get high, and at night they come into our houses to steal.

“Also, Kasuwan Fara is in the midst of our community, so very young children growing up are seeing their activities; and as you know, this situation will affect them psychologically and socially, “he lamented.

On whether they have reported the matter to the appropriate authorities he said, “We staged a protest months back. Our desire was to first report the matter at the Ibrahim Taiwo Police Station, then proceed to Shehu’s palace and stop the protest at the Government House, but on our way, we were stopped by soldiers at Sector 1 Command, close to Bye-pass junction. So we couldn’t go beyond that place. We attributed their action to the benefits they were getting from those involved in the illicit trade.

“Also, some powerful individuals have gone to the authorities to complain, but nothing has been done. So we have concluded that these people may have the backing of those up there.”

Insurgency, poverty, drug abuse responsible – Psychologist

A psychologist, Mahmuda Sarki, said the effect of Boko Haram insurgency, poverty and other psycho-social factors were responsible for the situation.

“Boko Haram insurgency has destroyed many families and left helpless widows and orphans in object poverty without any social support. They barely eat one square meal per day. So, what would they not do to survive?

“Also, parental care and control are not there. These girls hawk, serve as house-helps, labourers in farms and do any menial work that comes handy. So, those who pay them usually have more say in their lives than their parents. And, at any slightest opportunity, these people will rape them. They are the same girls advancing to brothels,” he said.

Sarki also said the situation was exposing the girls and their clients to sexually transmitted diseases, which they also spread in the society.

He added, “Once the youth population gets involved in sex scandals and drug abuse, the future of our society would be at crossroads, especially now that most of them have access to pornography.”

Number of rape cases alarming Commissioner

Lamenting the situation, the Commissioner for Justice in Borno State, Hauwa Abubakar, a lawyer, said that apart from underage prostitution, the number of rape cases, especially on minors, in Borno State, was alarming.

Hauwa, who assumed office as the state’s attorney-general recently, said she needed time to investigate activities at Kasuwar Fara, but admitted that rape cases, especially of minors, constituted 80 per cent of cases reported at the ministry on a daily basis.

“In fact, 5 in every 6 files I received were rape cases. The most alarming part of it is the rape of minors as young as two-year-old babies.

“When I came here, I was always disturbed. And anytime I got back home I would be worried, but as I was seeing it everyday, it became part of the work I had to face. But I have a huge concern about what we could do.”

The commissioner said she raised the issue when she received the country representative of United Nations on Drugs and Crimes, Oliver Stolpe last week, seeking the support of the organisation to eliminate drug and rape cases in the society.

“I raised this issue of rape at the Security Council meeting and at every opportunity I find to make a statement that will go further and make impact. That was why I mentioned it when the UN representative came to my office,” she said.

She also advocated that all hands must be on deck to address the menace, adding that the situation must not be left for security agencies alone to handle.

Also, the permanent secretary in the ministry, Garba Chibok, a lawyer, said the state government was making efforts to amend some of the laws to replace obsolete ones in order to provide stiffer penalties for offenders and serve as a deterrent to those who repeatedly commit crimes.

NHRC calls for demolition of brothels

The Borno State coordinator of the National Human Right Commission (NHRC), Jummai Usman Mshelia, said underage prostitution in Maiduguri was a matter of concern that needed collective efforts to deal with.

“Relevant stakeholders need to come on board so that we face it head on. We are going to involve the attorney-general and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) because they have the power to seal up any hotel harbouring these minors, and whoever is patronising them can be arrested.

“We will also meet the hierarchy of those who are patronising them based on our investigations, to let them know that the girls also pose a security risk to them because if they allow this to continue, the girls will get so much information that will be in danger to them,” she warned.

Parents our major challenge – NAPTIP

When contacted, the NAPTIP described underage sex trade as one of the major challenges faced in Maiduguri.

The zonal head of the Public Enlightenment Department of the agency, Zainab Abba Bashir, said they never relented in their efforts at curbing juvenile sex-for-money in Maiduguri.

“Violation of minors has been a major phenomenon in Borno State. Hundreds of vulnerable underage girls have either been violated or forced into exchanging sex for money,” she said.

She said that last year, the state government helped the agency to demolish two brothels that were known for camping underage girls.

“We rescued over 100 underage girls from various brothels with the help of the military, including the ones in Shagari Low-cost.

“We always bring them to our office, counsel them and reunite them with their families. We always go out to sensitise these girls on the danger of juvenile sex and its consequences,” she added.

She decried the nonchalant attitude of parents, saying it is a setback to their operations.

“Parents are looking at it as if it was normal. It is frustrating that after rescuing these girls, counselling and treating them of sexually transmitted diseases and reuniting them with their families, their parents always allow them to return to the brothels,” she lamented.

She also said that through the support of nongovernmental organisations they trained and empowered some of the underage girls rescued from brothels.

On whether they were able to arrest their ring leaders she said, “We are yet to arrest any of them, but we set up a joint team of the NAPTIP, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), military and the police, which is currently working to ensure that these culprits are arrested.

“The team raided the Shagari Low-cost area in January and rescued 17 juveniles. We will continue to carry out operations until we stop this menace.

“Months back, we arrested a trafficker that usually bought babies from these girls. We took her to court and she was prosecuted. So, we will not rest until we get to the ring leaders also.”

She commended the NDLEA for their quick response always, saying, “In fact, most times the agency would even be there before us. They do their arrests based on specifications of their jobs.”

Asked whether they are aware that some parents allowed their children to go into prostitution, she said, “According to the law, parents’ consent doesn’t matter at this age. And once we establish that, such parents will be made to face the wrath of the law.”

Residents desert area to save their children

A resident and retired civil servant who simply gave her name as Halima said, “We learnt that some of the girls are doing it with the consent of their evil parents. And with what is going on here, many residents and plot owners are deserting the place to save their children from the evil acts. We are going through hell in this place,” she said.

Another resident who identified himself as Bulus said, “The area is inundated by the activities of prostitutes, drug addicts and criminals at the expense of our children. We will appreciate it if the government relocates this place to Chabal or the outskirts of Maiduguri.

“Our parents, sisters and children are all living here, and you will see junkies and prostitutes fighting almost everyday, including the soldiers carrying guns.

“The worst part of it is that Maimalari Secondary School is here and young girls pass through the place everyday. Who knows what will happen to them.”

I must seek clearance before response – Army spokesman

When contacted for comments, the assistant director, Public Relations of the Theatre Command, Operation Hadin Kai, Major Samson Zhakom, said he would not respond to inquiries until he sought approval from their headquarters in Abuja.

However, a soldier who is not competent to speak to the press told our correspondent that military police usually raid such places and arrest soldiers on duty.

“Our men are not criminals, they only go there to womanise or drink. And the military police usually go there to arrest offenders. And if soldiers were part of it, they would take them to 7 Division.

“Those proven to have committed the offence would be punished based on their ranks, units and offences. This includes imprisonment with hard labour and other forms of punishment.

“Sometimes, after punishment some would be dismissed because it is only in the military that one gets double jeopardy, whereby they would be subjected to a second trial from the civilian court.

“On a particular case, the military authority had dismissed and sentenced a soldier to five years in prison for raping a 13-year-old girl and attempting to kill her. We don’t condone indiscipline once it is established,” he said.