Nigeria, Sept. 3 -- Amina, the mother of 12-year-old Alameen*, noticed a change in his behaviour. The playful and active child who once roamed the streets of Nursing Quarters in Bauchi Town, Bauchi State, had become withdrawn and flinched at sudden movements.

This sudden change made Mrs Amina worried. When washing his underwear, she found faeces, which was shocking as that hadn't happened since he was much younger. When she examined him, she discovered festering wounds and sores around his anus, which were damaged to the extent that he could not control his bowels.

Hysterical, she pressed him on what she feared had happened. It took some time and persuasion for him to reveal that three men in the neighbourhood had been sexually abusing ...