LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Nigerian military have raided and shut down Maiduguri underage brothels at Kasuwan Fara, Shagari low-cost area of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
The shut down followed an exclusive report by Daily Trust on 8 April exposing the illegal activities at the brothels.
A resident identified as Halima Abdul, in an interview with journalists, said some other perpetrators asides from sex workers, were also arrested by the army.
“The military raided the place two days ago and arrested some people. The whole place is now quiet. We don’t know where they took the culprits to.”
She said the raid and the subsequent patrols by the military in the area has changed the community to a serene environment for the residents.
Another resident, Solomon Joseph, described the raid as one of the best things that happened to the community, while calling on the military to allow those with legal business to run their businesses with no disturbance.
“There are traders doing their legal business at Kasuwar Fara, we appeal to the military to allow them back,” he said.
Categories of women from different parts of Maiduguri, are reportedly lured to the Shagari Low-cost area for various businesses.
An earlier report by Daily Trust revealed how these night visitors , sometimes, uniformed men and even the elderly troop into the area to take advantage of underage girls and other young prostitutes.
Brothels, beer parlours and suya spots are spread across every nook and cranny of the streets, while prostitutes and drug dealers abound.
Intoxicated girls looking for sex partners and their clients are mostly seen at dark corners of the area while others walk around to attract patronage.
Most of the juvenile sex workers are survivors of Boko Haram insurgency; hence poverty, hunger and family pressures forced them into prostitution, Daily Trust Saturday learnt.
