NIGERIAN YOUTH SHARES HORROR EXPERIENCE OF MODERN-DAY SLAVERY IN LIBYA

A young Nigerian woman, Mercy Oluwagbenga, has shared her harrowing experience of being rescued from Libya, where she was a victim of modern-day slavery. Mercy, who hails from Kabba in Kogi State, dropped out of school at the age of 20 to care for her ailing mother. In her quest to support her family, she was lured to Libya with promises of a better life.

However, her dreams were shattered as she was forced to work without pay for over a year to settle a ₦2.5 million debt to the agent who trafficked her. “For one year and six months, I worked without receiving a kobo because I had to pay the agent who took me to Libya about ₦2.5 million. I was maltreated, forced to change jobs, and at one point, locked up in a house where my blood was drawn without my consent,” she recounted with tears.

Mercy described the treatment she received in Libya as inhumane, saying Nigerians like her were “treated like animals.” She eventually managed to escape into a camp before receiving help. However, she lost her sick mother back home in Nigeria while she was trapped.

Expressing her gratitude, Mercy thanked the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), its Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and Dr. Segun Abraham of Trinity Foundation, for facilitating her safe return. Dabiri-Erewa commended Mercy’s bravery and urged Nigerian youths to avoid irregular migration, describing it as “voluntary suicide.” She emphasized the importance of safe and legal migration channels.

Mercy now hopes to resume her education, which she abandoned in 2018, and has committed to working with NIDCOM to sensitize others about the dangers of irregular migration. “I will work with NIDCOM to ensure that no other Nigerian goes through what I went through,” she said.