They were full of life and hope when they left Nigeria for Europe through Libya between 2016 and 2019. For Kemi, Bright, Cynthia and Ore (surnames withheld to protect survivors), they only wanted to travel to the United States of America, Italy, Spain and Germany to become successful and help their families. However, fate or dubious human traffickers and migrant smugglers had other ideas.

In their desperate bid to travel to Europe, these young Nigerians gave up their means of livelihood back home, with three of them selling all they had to raise money, which they paid to supposed travel agents in the hope of bettering their financial conditions in the first world countries only to be smuggled to Libya, extorted and abandoned by supposed pushers meant to ferry them to Europe.

The migrants were caged in “connection houses” for sex slavery or sold to Bugas (masters) who delivered them at the homes of Arab bosses as domestic workers without payment for many years.

Tired of the inhuman and degrading treatments they were subjected to in the North African country notorious for organised crimes and armed violence, the young Nigerians, who were among the 175 returnees assisted back home by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), received on Wednesday morning by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the police and other stakeholders, relived their various nightmarish experiences in separate interviews with our correspondent.

According to them, Libya was no longer a safe place for Nigerians as they were daily forced into slavery or held hostage so that their families back home are forced to pay endless ransoms.

The slave masters who hide under the guise of spending millions for victims to be brought into Libya even when some of these youths pay their ways through, connive with dubious Arabs to keep them in perpetual bondage until they become spent and worn out.

 

Raped, robbed and starved

For 22-year-old Kemi, her journey to Libya in 2019 was not by choice. The young woman who lived in Kwara State, was an apprentice hair stylist and a local herb trader before she was lured by a human trafficker who promised to take her to the United States of America (USA) to serve as a housemaid.

Already tired of her sufferings since the death of her father and abandonment by her mother whose new husband did not want her in their lives, Kemi felt that luck had smiled on her with the woman’s promise. Hence she did not hesitate to do all she was asked for the trip to the USA to materialise.

But her dreams for a better life was shattered when instead of USA, she arrived Libya and was taken to a “connection house” where she was forced to sleep with 20 men daily for N7,000 each, which her trafficker pocketed with claims that she had to repay all the money they spent to bring her to Libya.

According to her, she suffered the worst forms of abuses at the hands of her traffickers.

Aside not given any dime from the proceeds of the forced prostitution, she was denied basic care including food or maintenance allowance, and had to survive on food bought for her by some of the men who came to sleep with her daily.

Jumoke, who could barely walk, said: “It was some of the men who slept with me that usually bought food for me when coming or they gave me money to eat so I could have the strength to serve them.

“As I am talking to you now, I am very sick. I have pains all over my body, especially my stomach, due to the excessive sex I had with different men.

“I am 22 years now. I only attended primary school and then I went to learn hairdressing. I was learning hair dressing and selling agbo (local herbs) when I was introduced to a woman in Asaba.

“It was agbo I went to sell in Asaba when I got introduced to the woman.

“I lived in Ijagbo, Kwara State with my friends because my mother’s husband did not want me in their lives. My father died and my mother remarried, but her husband never liked me.

“Since my agbo business was not very lucrative and I got introduced to this woman who promised to take me to USA as maid, I was overjoyed that at least, my life would amount to something.

“I did not even tell my mother I was travelling as there was no communication between us.

“The woman told me that I would work for them as a house girl and I would be well provided for. She didn’t disclose the actual destination to me, which was Libya.

“Immediately we got to Saba, they took me to connection house; the place where they engage in prostitution.

“I did not want to oblige but I was threatened that if I did not do it and pay them, I would be killed. I did the job for two years and I paid them roughly N4.2 million.

“Once I finished serving them, I would not be able to do anything for myself because I would be left with no strength.

“Different kinds of men slept with me from Abokis to Ghanaians. Every day,  I slept with eight to twenty guys and I got paid an equivalent of N7,000 each which I handed over to those that brought me as the money they spent in transporting me to Libya.

“I ate once a day if my customers dashed me money or bought me food.

“I have a friend in Libya who advised me to go and register and go to Nigeria to take care of myself. I am thankful that I am back. I will pick up my life from the scratch once I feel better.

“I have learnt my lessons to never trust anyone who comes to me with fancy promises. I am glad that I had no abortions while on the job.”

 

Traumatic desert experiences

Ore, who said she actually paid N450,000 to one Fatimah she knew through her friend Abosede’s in-law in order to travel to Germany,  narrated how they were forced into a vehicle from the hotel they were kept in Kano during Ramadan period and ferried through the harsh desert weather without water or food.

She never suspected anything untoward since Abosede, whose brother in-law was the one who linked them to Fatimah was also with her on the trip, and because she had paid them the requested N450,000 that was supposed to take her to Germany in a flight they would board at Kano Airport.

She said: “I am a hairdresser. But before I travelled in 2018, I was working at a restaurant in Ikeja.

“One day, my friend Abosede told me there was an opportunity in Germany she heard of through her in-law. She said they needed a hair dresser. I sold my things to raise money and I paid Fatimah, the supposed agent, N450,000.

“Then Abosede also indicated interest to go. I do not know if she paid anything. But what I know is that we were told to board a bus to Kano, that we would fly to Germany from there since it was Ramadan period.

“Myself and Abosede boarded a bus, and when we arrived Kano, we were kept in a hotel.

“At night, they came and said we should take our bag and enter a bus that would take us to the airport for our trip. But instead of a plane, the next thing I saw was that we had entered Niger Republic and afterwards, Gatron and then Agadez, and from there into the (Sahara) desert.

“The journey from Lagos to Libya took us about one month. They kept changing vehicles, and when we got into desert, it was Toyota Hilux they used to carry us.

“We were more than 200 from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and neighbouring countries, but Nigerians were more.

“From the desert to Libya was one week, and that was the most dangerous part of the journey.

“I saw five of my co-travellers die and they were abandoned in the desert. They died from thirst because there was no water or food and the weather was harsh. It was just once in many days that we were served drops of water mixed with petrol.

“Then, when people tried to rush the water, they flogged us like animals. They also raped many girls while those who couldn’t control themselves willingly submitted their bodies to the smugglers.

“As the Hilux galloped, those who couldn’t sit well fell off and they flogged them. It was a traumatic experience but we could not do anything as we were already trapped in it.

“Finally, we reached Libya and I thought there would be respite, but that was just the beginning of the suffering.

“Abosede and I were taken to the same Buga (master). He is a Nigerian slave master there. He assigned me to an Arab policeman’s family as nanny and maid.

“I was told that I would work for 18 months before I could regain my freedom. I worked for those 18 months under very demeaning conditions. I was never given a penny by the Arab family.

“All the money I worked for, I learnt, was paid to my Buga. The family gave me food once a day and they usually locked me inside when they went out.

“I had no freedom, no phone, no access to the outside world. They treated me with disdain.

“The worst was one evening when their three-year-old son lied to his mother that I beat him up. The woman didn’t even want to hear from me or check their cameras if it was true. She just threw me out of the house, and it was raining heavily.

“I was outside under the rain till morning with nothing to cover my body. No phone to call my master, no money and nowhere to run to; just stranded in the rain till morning when she came and opened the gate and ordered me in.

“So, after the 18 months, I thought freedom was finally here but it never came.

“I was taken to my Buga where I stayed for three days and after that sent back to the policeman’s house.

“I was there for another year still without a penny paid to me. It was during this period that I started thinking of a way out.

“One day, I was on top of the house spreading clothes when I suddenly saw a man walking on the streets and speaking Yoruba. It appears he was receiving a call.

“My Arab masters were not in, so I shouted in Yoruba so that the man could hear me. He heard my cry for help, came closer and I quickly told him my experience and that I wanted to go back home.

“He gave me his number and told me to find a way to call him from inside the house so that he could have more information about where I was.

“I was able to do that and I kept in touch with him whenever they were not around. He kept telling me to come out but it was not possible until one morning when the opportunity presented itself.

“That was how I ran out and he took me to the embassy and they facilitated my trip back home.

“So many Nigerians are suffering in Libya. Some people are sick there and these Bugas are wicked. They even kill people without mercy.

“One girl is back in Nigeria with broken legs because she refused to be forced into prostitution. Her Buga broke her leg.

“She has been in the hospital since February and her family is so poor that they cannot even take her to a good hospital.

“I did not come back with anything. I sold everything I had when I was leaving and then I did not even get a penny despite working for 30 months in Libya.

“Not a kobo was given to me. I learnt the Arabs paid equivalent of N70,000 monthly to my Buga which is N2.1 million, but not a dime was given to me.

“I have not heard from Abosede since I came back. I do not know if they ever looked for me or asked after me from the Arabs.

“That her in-law who introduced us to Fatimah has also returned to Libya. I have not seen or heard from any of them.

“All I need now is money to start all over with my life here in Nigeria. I need help to buy some of my tools back.”

 

Camp of horror

Bright also travelled through the desert after paying N400,000. Unlike Ore, he was aware his journey to Italy would be through the desert until he arrived Libya and then he would be ferried via a boat to his destination.

According to him, his desire to succeed and help his family when he got to Italy was greater than any suffering in the desert, so he made up his mind to weather it all.

But the zeal to get into Italy at all costs disappeared the moment be saw how people like him were being killed or kidnapped as they attempted to cross to the other side.

Bright also narrated how his fellow camp members waiting to be crossed by pushers took ill with some dying helplessly as a result of dehydration, hunger and infections.

Unable to bear the sights further, he said he decided it was time to return to his fatherland before he suffered the same fate as others.

He said: “I was not trafficked and no one lured me. I actually heard about the possibility of entering Europe through Libya and so I paid N400,000 to embark on the journey.

“I saw how people died in the desert from lack of water. It was not easy but I was determined to arrive Italy, which was my destination.

“It took us more than three weeks to arrive Libya. When I got to Libya, crossing to Italy became an issue.

“I was practically detained and I spent a lot of money for pushers to cross me over without success.

“I spent N150,000, N170,000 and another N150,000 but I could not cross. While in the camp waiting to be crossed, I saw different types of operations in Libya.

“I saw how people were being kidnapped and killed all in an attempt to cross over to Europe so I became scared.

“I decided to return to my country where I can be free. I kept hoping that I would cross to Europe; that was why I spent three years there. I was doing meniai jobs like car wash to survive.

“The first time I tried to cross, the pusher man we paid money to didn’t push us. We waited and some of us were getting sick in the camp, some dying and we couldn’t do anything.

“The Libya people who pushed us to the sea to cross are the ones who camped us. I can say that Nigeria is the best country I have ever seen because it is like I am in a free world. I have freedom of speech.

“When I was in Libya, I was like someone without a voice. My advice to people who want to travel is that they should avoid going through the desert. Travel through the proper channels. Do not go to Europe by land.

“What I went through in Libya in desert I cannot explain. Some of us died from dehydration. No water. The cloth you wore from Nigeria is what you will wear till you arrive Libya.

“From Niger Republic to Libya, some spend between two weeks and three months in the desert without food or water. Some would be crying while others would die painful deaths.

“I am using this medium to advice everyone hearing my voice to steer clear from travelling to Europe by land.”

 

Endangered species

Warning Nigerians to stop going to Libya, Cynthia said criminally minded Arabs there believe that Nigeria is a very rich country and so are determined to make money off her citizens. She said she went to that country in 2017 but decided to return after five years because things were getting out of hands there.

“A lot of things happened in Libya to especially Nigerian girls last year and early this year. Libya is a danger zone for female Africans.

“The problem majorly is the opening of connection houses where women are forced into prostitution.

“It is not only in the desert that people die; so many lost their lives inside Libya and while trying to cross to Europe.

“Our women are being deceived that they would be taken to Spain and Italy for jobs only to turn them into sex slaves.

“Those who cannot do prostitution are held hostage and asked to call their families back home to send money for their freedom. That is what is happening.

“Now they also sell men as well. They ask them to control money from Nigeria. Nigerians in Libya who run these connection houses are the ones doing it in connivance with Libyans.”

 

Statistics

Receiving the latest batch of returnees at the cargo wing, Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, NEMA’s DG, Mustapha Ahmed, said the Boeing 737-800 Al Buraq Air with registration number 5A-DMG that brought them landed at about 11:50pm on Tuesday.

Ahmed, who was represented by NEMA’s Lagos Territorial Office Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, said  the batch comprised 64 adult females, 12 girls, five infant females; 77 adult males, 11 boys and six infant males.

 

He said four of the returnees comprising two men and two women had medical cases.

In a report released earlier this month, the IOM revealed that 56 per cent of human trafficking victims in Niger Republic were from Nigeria and 23 per cent from Niger and other sub-Saharan African countries.

It said the report also showed that women and girls constituted 69 per cent while men and boys were 31 per cent of victims and survivors of trafficking in Niger, thus making trafficking in persons a gendered issue, affecting disproportionaly women and girls.

According to the IOM, 666 victims of trafficking were between 2017 and 2021 assisted at IOM’s transit centres in Niger for vulnerable migrants, the government-run centre in Zinder, or outside these centres.

“Victims were mainly registered in Zinder, Agadez, Arlit, Dirkou, and the region of Niamey. They are between four months and 66 years old with an average age of 20.

“Victims were mostly adults (62 per cent were 18 and over), but children represented a significant 37 per cent of victims…

“The study also reveals that most victims come from Nigeria (56 per cent), Niger (23 per cent) and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Those trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced prostitution and intended sexual exploitation constituted the majority (38 per cent), followed by labour exploitation, forced labour and intended labour exploitation (21 per cent), whereas 23 per cent were for purposes of begging…”

 

NAPTIP intensifies awareness, prevention campaigns

Determined to combat human and organ trafficking, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), has adopted an all of society approach to addressing the menace.

Its Director General (DG), Dr. Fatima Waziri-Azi, during a press conference to mark this year’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in Abuja, outlined efforts taken to make the society more aware of new tricks and trends adopted by human traffickers.

She said the realisation that human traffickers operated online as much as they did offline necessitated the United Nations to theme this year’s commemoration “Use and Abuse of Technology.”

Waziri-Azi said: “If COVID has taught us anything, it is the re-enforcement of the need for digital channel of communication which has led to a massive digital transformation. The fact remains, while technology has come as a great relief and a major boost in the way of life of people, the same has left much to be concerned because human traffickers have also caught on to this digital transformation.

“There is a shift from physical recruitment to virtual recruitment through virtual assessment of victims and proxy negotiations.

“The Internet provides easy access to a larger pool of potential victims because geographical limitations no longer exist, thereby increasing the ease with which traffickers can locate and recruit their victims; control and organise transportation for victims, communicate amongst perpetrators, and hide criminal proceeds.

“At NAPTIP, we have seen an increase in fake job advertorials and fake scholarships via social media as traffickers use it to recruit and cat fish unsuspecting victims. Traffickers also use technology to control their victims. For instance, besides oath taking, they make nude videos of their victims and threaten to share the explicit images online.

“While technology is frequently misused to facilitate trafficking in persons, its positive use helps in combat trafficking and support anti-trafficking work, such as aiding investigations that in turn enhances prosecutions, scaling awareness campaigns, development of technology-based tools that support victims and survivors and enhancing international cooperation…”

For this year’s celebration, NAPTIP and her partners premiered a short film on organ harvesting titled “Pound of Heart” which was produced by the agency’s drama club. It also organised an inter-university debate for four schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); an anti-human trafficking walk and sensitisation exercises across the country, among other activities.