A young Nigerian, Mercy Oluwagbenga, has urged youths to shun irregular migration after recounting her harrowing experience in Libya, where she was subjected to forced labour and abuse.
Mercy, an indigene of Kabba in Kogi State, was recently rescued following a viral video that showed her crying out for help.
She was received in Abuja by Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM).
Narrating her ordeal, the 20-year-old said she dropped out of school in 2018 while in her third year at university and was lured to Libya with promises of greener pastures to enable her raise money for her ailing mother. Instead, she became trapped in modern-day slavery.
“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 two and a half million naira. I was maltreated, I changed jobs, and at one point, I was locked up in a house where my blood was drawn without my consent,” she said tearfully.
Mercy lamented that many Nigerians in her situation were “treated like animals,” stressing that she was fortunate to escape into a camp before being repatriated with support from Dr. Segun Abraham of Trinity Foundation.
She expressed gratitude to NIDCOM and appealed for assistance to return to school after losing her mother during her time in Libya.
“I don’t want any young girl or boy to go through what I went through. Please don’t follow this route,” she pleaded, pledging to work with NIDCOM to raise awareness against irregular migration.
Hon. Dabiri-Erewa commended Mercy for her courage and survival, noting that she was “one of the lucky ones,” as many others perish in the desert, drown in the Mediterranean, or remain untraceable.
The NIDCOM boss described irregular migration as “voluntary suicide” and urged Nigerian youths to always seek safe and legal means of travel.
She also thanked Dr. Abraham for sponsoring Mercy’s repatriation and assured that NIDCOM would support her rehabilitation.
Dabiri-Erewa further highlighted President Bola Tinubu’s introduction of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which she said would enable young Nigerians like Mercy to complete their education instead of dropping out due to financial constraints.
