An Okun daughter, Mercy Oluwagbenga, an undergraduate from Kabba, Kogi State, has shared the heartbreaking story of how she was maltreated while working as a domestic staff in Libya.
Mercy revealed that her Arab employers repeatedly withdrew her blood at home under the guise of treating their sick mother. When she refused to continue, she was beaten until she fainted.
According to her, she was deceived into leaving Nigeria with promises of better opportunities to support her ailing mother, only to end up in what she described as “modern-day slavery.” She worked for more than one and a half years without pay, after paying over ₦2 million to agents.
She recalled how she once tried to escape but was recaptured and mercilessly beaten. Her phone and SIM card were seized, isolating her from the outside world.
Upon her return, Mercy expressed gratitude to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), led by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and the Trinity Foundation under Dr. Segun Abraham, for rescuing her. She has also appealed for help from well meaning Nigerians and Okun people to enable her continue her education, which she abandoned in her third year at university back in 2018.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa used the opportunity to caution Nigerian youths—especially those from Kogi and Okunland—against irregular migration, stressing that many do not make it back alive. Mercy herself described the “japa” syndrome as “voluntary slavery.”
Credit: Tribune Online
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