With a growing population of 211,366,891, Nigeria is by a fair margin Africa’s most populated country. Its population has rapidly grown in the last two years from approximately 2.52% to 2.71% (an addition of over 5 million people). 0.17% of these new Nigerians are born in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) shelters in Borno state.

A recent report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) shared that 17,053 children were born in about 18 IDP camps in Northern Nigeria within three years. What this report scarcely shares is that a good percent of these children are born to mothers that were and still are victims of sexual crimes.

Amina (name changed) is a young mother of 2 living in Fulatari IDP Camp in Monguno, Borno State. She and her mother fled their village under Boko Haram control back in 2015, shortly after the Nigerian military launched their initial operation in the region.

War meant that people, especially women and children, would abandon their homes to settle in IDP camps built by the Nigerian government. One of these camps in conflict-torn Borno State is the Fulatari IDP camp.

At the time of this research (May 2021), the Fulatari host camp in Borno State had a population of 4,537 children and 1,217 women. Multiple fire incidents in the camps between January and April 2021 destroyed over 2,878 shelters, worsening the living conditions of Amina and 9,808 others. With nowhere to go and no source of income, Amina turns to transactional sex to carter for her children…and the baby on the way.

“My children have different fathers. I did not want it to be so but men will not help you if you don’t sleep with them,”- Amina.

Before now, military officials were in charge of both host and satellite camps, allowing them to be first-hand beneficiaries of transactional sex. A 2018 report by Amnesty International alleged that a staggering number of women in IDP camps were forced to exchange sex for food or protection of their families by military officers in charge of their camps between June 2016 to April 2018. Women who refused advances from these officers were illegally detained and raped for their parents’ or husbands’ alleged involvement with Boko Haram.

Years have passed and most of these camps are no longer run by the military. The fear of rape is now a not too distant memory that has left behind a string of children with unidentifiable fathers, born to women that must depend on the camp leaders to protect them, feed them and impregnate them.

In Amina’s camp, a well-placed camp member provides accommodation, quick access to food and protection from other men in the camp that could victimize her and her children. This man requires a very high payment for his generosity; sex.

With two children, one on the way and no husband, it is not a very high price to pay, according to Amina.“Everybody does it! If you don’t have one man to protect you, other men can rape you and your children would starve. Most girls come here without babies, but life is very difficult here. There is no work, so we must do what we can to survive,” she said.

Amina goes on to recount several rape experiences she suffered in the first camp she lived in with her mother after they fled their village in 2015. In her opinion, this arrangement with her Mataimaki (helper) cannot be termed as rape. 

“It is rub my back, I rub your back. If you don’t want to, another girl will take your place.”

Prominent male camp dwellers and leaders seek out their victims and offer their help for a “small price”. Oftentimes, they are met with initial resistance, but mounting hardship, hunger, victimization and the fear of rape soon crack the resolve of their victims, leading to the beginning of a very discreet relationship. The abusers can have as many women as they want, in exchange for food, accommodation and some level of protection. 

The discretion of this kind of relationship is taken very seriously, according to Amina. Cultural standards forbid pre or extramarital affairs, which is one of the major reasons victims refuse to admit to their abuse. Unfortunately, discretion is only ironic, as these affairs leave a chain of sexually transmitted infections, as well as unwanted pregnancies. 

Attempts to retrieve numeric data to detail reports of rape, harassment, or other forms of sexual abuse in the camp was met with strong resistance by camp staff and the victims, leading us to establish some patterns of Stockholm Syndrome evident in the odd relationship between victims and their abusers. 

All the victims at this camp refused to name their abusers, all the while insisting these men were only trying to help.

Another victim who was raped told us her abuser did it for her good.

Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

Is there any? An IOM report contained in a 30-page paper on Rape in IDP camps by Amnesty International showed that 70% of dwellers in the camp reported food to be their largest unmet need. 

In Amina’s camp, food is a luxury. Humanitarian organizations distribute food as much as they can but, availability and unbiased sharing remain a problem in these camps, leading to negative coping mechanisms like trading sex for food and other necessities.

Dreams and aspirations are inconceivable in the minds of the women here as they cannot see beyond the hunger and hardship they experience. When asked what she aspires to become, Amina said: “I would like to be a doctor but I cannot go to school again. I now hope that my daughter would go in my place if we ever leave this place”

Even the idea of leaving is a mirage. With the conflict in Borno State rumoured to be at its end following numerous accounts of the death of principal actors of terrorist groups in the state, the prospects for displaced people’s safe return to their homes would still be tenuous. 

The humanitarian community remains concerned the Borno State Returns Strategy may not be sustainable and aligned to the seamless return of  IDPs. More so with the uncertainty of the safety of their former homes and the hardship awaiting them there.

This could mean a continuation of the chain of sexual abuse, unwanted dependency on their abusers and increasing fertility rates. There seems to be no light at the end of this tunnel. At least not just yet.