{"id":53460,"date":"2025-04-22T11:52:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T09:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=53460"},"modified":"2025-04-22T11:52:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T09:52:29","slug":"drug-abuse-and-prostitution-escalate-in-borno-idp-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/drug-abuse-and-prostitution-escalate-in-borno-idp-camp\/","title":{"rendered":"Drug abuse and prostitution escalate in Borno IDP camp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>Escalating drug abuse among young people and an increase in girls selling sex to meet their basic needs are getting \u2018out of hand\u2019 in internally displaced persons\u2019 camp, says community leader.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a desperate measure to survive, young girls and women, including widows and divorcees, in Borno State\u2019s internally displaced persons\u2019 camps are selling sex for food.<\/p>\n

Drug abuse and other social vices \u2013 such as theft and thuggery, rape and other forms of gender-based violence \u2013 are also escalating.<\/p>\n

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has raised the alarm over the increase in cases of drug abuse, prostitution and other social vices in the Muna internally displaced persons\u2019 (IDP) camp, which is on the outskirts of Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in Nigeria\u2019s northeast.<\/p>\n

The camp is home to more than 9,400 households and about 48,000 displaced persons.<\/p>\n

At a two-day town hall meeting \u2013 on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15 and 16 \u2013 held in the camp, NEMA\u2019s northeast zonal coordinator, Abdullahi Sirajo, urged parents and community leaders to work with authorities to tackle the alarming issues.<\/p>\n

Although he was addressing residents of Muna camp, other IDP camps and host communities in Borno State are experiencing similar distressing behaviour.<\/p>\n

The situation is getting out of hand<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sirajo, represented by the agency\u2019s head of operations in the northeast, Manir Gidado, said: \u201cI\u2019m pleased to report that several strategic measures were adopted during the discussions to address these social problems. We also assured the residents of NEMA\u2019s continued support to ensure their comfort and dignity as they prepare to return to their ancestral homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur engagement was very fruitful. We discussed how to reduce drug abuse among youths, prostitution, security threats and other related issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mustapha Mohammed, a community leader at Muna said social problems were openly discussed.<\/p>\n

Topping the agenda was increased drug abuse among young people and the alarming practice of young girls and vulnerable women who were selling sex to meet their basic needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation is getting out of hand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The community leader attributed the situation to a lack of humanitarian aid assistance and record-high poverty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem of drug abuse among young people has been in existence for a while, but the recent escalation has been compounded by the lack of humanitarian aid and poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents, particularly displaced persons, who were forced to flee from their ancestral hometowns because of the \u201cBoko Haram insurgency\u201d, are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis. The high price of commodities, including fuel and food, has put even basic essentials out of reach for many.<\/p>\n

Food insecurity has been worsened by ongoing deadly insurgent attacks \u2013 by the Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da\u2019way Wa\u2019l-Jih\u0101d (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) \u2013 who threaten farmers and often prevent them going to their land to tend to their crops.<\/p>\n

Recently there has been a surge in the number of attacks \u2013 including killings and kidnappings \u2013 even in IDP camps and host communities close to Maiduguri.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of boundaries and restrictions in the camp, which is not fenced, has also contributed to the escalation of problems,\u201d said Abubakar Usman, also a resident of Muna. \u201cAnyone can enter the camp and build a tent without following due protocols. This has led to the influx of individuals, including those from the demolished brothels in the Galadima area of Maiduguri, who have brought their illicit activities into the camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Galadima was a notorious area of the city known to be the home of drug dealers, prostitutes and criminals.<\/p>\n

Young women engage in prostitution and drugs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nana Mohammed, a women leader at the camp, corroborated Usman\u2019s account, stating that new arrivals were mostly unmarried young girls, some of whom had run away from their parents, as well as divorcees and widows.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of shere desperation some of them have turned to prostitution as a means of livelihood, inviting men into their tents.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mother of three young girls, seeing girls their age engaging in prostitution is extremely disturbing,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are trying our best to help them out of this situation, but our best is not enough. We can\u2019t do it alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

A concerned parent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Usman, a father, confirmed that young girls had resorted to prostitution to survive, often for negligible amounts of money.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue became rampant after strangers from different areas arrived in the camp,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is disturbing how young girls in the Muna IDP camp have resorted to prostitution to survive, with many engaging in this activity for a negligible amount of money. They are desperate and they have no other means of making money,\u201d he told Ndarason.<\/p>\n

Other residents expressed concern over the worsening social conditions in the camp. They said vulnerable children and people with disabilities were especially at risk.<\/p>\n

All hands must be on deck<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nana Mohammed emphasised the need for collective action: \u201cEveryone, including government agencies, humanitarian organisations, camp leaders and community members, needs to work together to address the issues of prostitution, drug abuse and security challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

The camp leaders, in collaboration with NEMA officials and security forces, have decided to take measures to eradicate bad behaviour, including prohibiting the sale of drugs and preventing those who bring customers into the camp for prostitution from operating.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation highlights the need for urgent action to address the security challenges and humanitarian needs in the camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith more than 48,000 displaced persons, Muna IDP camp requires adequate support and protection to ensure the wellbeing and dignity of its residents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

AYSHA MUSTAPHA KOLOMI<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Escalating drug abuse among young people and an increase in girls selling sex to meet their basic needs are getting \u2018out of hand\u2019 in internally displaced persons\u2019 camp, says community […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":53461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-humanitarian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53460"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53460"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53460\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53462,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53460\/revisions\/53462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}