A photographer given access to some of the most vulnerable victims of Boko Haram has produced a set of striking images to help tell their story.
Chris de Bode, who specialises in covering humanitarian stories, visited Yola in north-eastern Nigeria for the Dutch Relief Alliance, a coalition of 14 Dutch NGOs. Yola’s internally displaced people camps are a temporary home to thousands of Nigerians who fled the insurgency, and who now face new threats because of food shortages.
He describes the girls’ stories – the youngest is four – as “especially dramatic”, having lived through terrible experiences like being raped, forced into marriage, sold and enslaved, or just witnessing attacks by Boko Haram forces.
De Bode praised the hospitality of people in Yola, saying their generosity towards displaced people “should be an example for the whole world”, adding that close to 90 per cent were living with families in private homes.