Traditional rulers, lawyers, and government officials in Borno State have raised the alarm over the disturbing surge in teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions within Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Maiduguri.
The revelation came during a two-day stakeholders’ dialogue organised by the Grassroots Researchers Association (GRA) with support from We Are Not Weapons of War (WWoW), held over the weekend in Maiduguri.
The dialogue brought together over 500 survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, alongside traditional rulers, legal experts, government representatives, and development partners, all seeking urgent solutions to the deepening crisis.
According to Daily Trust, speaking at the event, Mr. John Gwoma, traditional ruler and chairman of the EYN IDPs Camp in Jerusalem, Wulari area of Maiduguri, painted a grim picture of the situation, describing how young girls are being preyed upon by men from town who arrive in flashy cars, lure them, and leave them pregnant.
“Men from the town will come in big cars, carry these small girls and impregnate them. As a result, we now have rampant cases of unsafe abortions in the camp,” Gwoma said.
“The female toilets have turned into butchery, frequently covered with blood. These girls will enter the toilet, terminate pregnancy and leave the foetus inside,” he added.
Zaynab Abdallah, a female facilitator at the dialogue, corroborated the claims, saying the juvenile sex trade and feticide are flourishing in Maiduguri’s IDP camps. She blamed poverty and parental complicity for the worsening situation.
“Parents should fear God. Most of them are fully aware of what the children are doing, but stay quiet due to the material gain,” she said. “Apart from the economic hardship, sex has become part of their lives, and you can’t stop them, no matter how hard you try. And, when they get pregnant, they abort it quietly to avoid stigma.”
Survivors and stakeholders shared harrowing accounts of rape, juvenile sex, and how economic desperation is pushing women and girls into prostitution.
However, the dialogue also highlighted success stories, including how GRA’s awareness campaigns have helped break the stigma and improve survivors’ access to justice.
Mr. Friday Bitrus, Executive Director of GRA, said the feedback from the dialogue would be compiled into a call-to-action document to drive advocacy and policy reform.
