According to her, what she suffered includes being locked indoors for a year and having her blood extracted monthly to sustain her employer’s ailing mother.
A Nigerian woman, Mercy Olugbenga, has narrated her horrifying ordeal in Libya, where she was trafficked under the guise of a job offer and subjected to inhumane treatment.
According to her, what she suffered includes being locked indoors for a year and having her blood extracted monthly to sustain her employer’s ailing mother.
Olugbenga, who dropped out of university in her third year after her mother developed kidney failure, said desperation forced her to leave Nigeria in search of opportunities abroad.
According to her, she had no prior knowledge of Libya until the day before embarking on the journey, when someone mentioned a “a job offer” there.
“My mum was very sick. She had a kidney problem. We had to sell all our property, and after that, there was nothing left. It was only me, my brother, and my mother; our extended family deserted us. So, I had no option. Honestly, I didn’t even know I was leaving until the day before the journey,” she said.
"Someone told me there was a job in Libya. I didn’t think twice; I just said I would follow them. Before then, I didn’t even know there was a country called Libya until that day.”
But her reality turned into a nightmare the moment she arrived.
“It wasn’t just me; many Africans and other migrants suffer there. The Arabs, in particular, don’t like us. Maybe they see Nigerians as competitors, or they fear we might take over. They treat us like animals.
"At my last place of work, I was locked up for an entire year. They would lock my room, the main door, and the gate. I was trapped in that house. I was employed to take care of their elderly mother, in addition to doing house chores. Later, I discovered she had kidney problems. Every month, they brought a nurse to the house to withdraw (take) my blood.
"At first, I thought it was just a routine medical test, because normally, as workers, we do tests every three months. But this was monthly, which was unusual. Eventually, I realised my blood matched their mother’s, and they were actually using it for her transfusions.”
When she attempted to protest, Olugbenga said she was repeatedly beaten and silenced. Even members of her Libyan employer’s family were too afraid to intervene.
“When I confronted them, I told them it was wrong to keep taking my blood. But instead of stopping, they began to beat me. Even their daughter-in-law, who once tried to intervene, was beaten. Everyone around was too scared of the family to help me,” she said.
"Though I had a phone, they regularly seized it or wiped it clean if they suspected I was communicating with people outside.”
Her rescue finally came last year following the intervention of Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), and Mr. Abraham Singu, who reached out to her directly after her story surfaced.
“I was there for four years. At first, I kept hoping things would improve. But as time passed, I realised I might die there. I also worried about what people would say: ‘Why did she even go there?’ But then I thought, if I died in silence, the same people would ask, ‘Why didn’t she speak up?’ That gave me the courage to finally cry out for help.”
Olugbenga also clarified that the payment arrangement for her trafficking was calculated in dollars, not naira.
“It wasn’t exactly ₦2.5 million. They calculate payments in dollars. Some people pay for one year and four months of work, others for one year and six months. That was the arrangement for our travel.”
Now back in Nigeria, she is determined to return to school and complete her studies.
“I want to go back to school. I was studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture,” she said.
"First, I want to thank those who rescued me — Honorable Abike Dabiri and Mr. Abraham Singu. They reached out to me directly after hearing my story and arranged for my return to Nigeria.”
"My advice is this: no matter the situation, do not leave Nigeria illegally. They don’t like us out there. Instead, let’s fix our country so others will see Nigeria as a place worth coming to,” she added.