Libyan returnee recounts ordeal as migration agency repatriates 182 Nigerians

A young Nigerian returnee stood by a generator at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) shelter in Lagos, wearing a white tracksuit and rubber slippers, and in a low voice recounted being trafficked to Libya at age 17.

The 24-year old, who requested anonymity, was among the 182 returnees who had voluntarily submitted themselves to IOM for evacuation from Libya following a series of hardship, uncertainty, and exploitation in the Arab nation.

She was trafficked to Libya in 2019, lured by promises of work and a better life. Her mother’s friend, who facilitated the trip, told her she would work briefly to pay a “sponsor” before gaining freedom to pursue any job or business of her choice.

Narrating her experience, she recalled that she had just finished her secondary school education, but extreme poverty informed her decision to go through the desert of Libya in 2019 to seek fortune elsewhere.

“My mother’s friend was the one who introduced my mum to the opportunity to travel to Libya to work and earn foreign currency.” “She told my mum that her children are there too and are working. You will work for a year or some months, then you will become free after paying your sponsor.”

The journey to Libya took her and others five weeks as they passed through the desert and various camps. “We were taken to different camps and faced hostility from Libyans; I went through a horrifying experience during the period I was there,” she recalled.

But on arrival, the “sponsor” revealed the grim truth; she was expected to work as house help or prostitute. “My sponsor explained to me that in this place, you can only work as house help or a prostitute.” “That is the job that women from Nigeria or anywhere can do there.”

Upon hearing this, she wanted to go back home, but the “sponsor” demanded a refund of his money spent on bringing her to Libya. “I told him that I want to go back, but he said it’s not possible. Unless after paying for the transport.”

The girl recounts being told she would get a phone and SIM upon arrival, but her “sponsor” refused, fearing she would be contacted to return home. Confined and coerced, she feared speaking out. “If we want to live here… we must do whatever he says,” she was warned. Threats of violence kept her trapped and severely abused by the sponsor.

Facing threats of being sold, she lived in fear until meeting someone who helped her connect with IOM, but her “sponsor” blocked her initial application, using connections to cancel it.

She reapplied in December 2025 and was finally evacuated by IOM. “I am very happy,” she said, “grateful for IOM’s help,” she added.

Her story echoes countless others trafficked from Nigeria. “They make us feel like we’re not human,” she noted.

IOM’s support, she added, helped her “remember we were once humans.” She thanks IOM profusely. “I don’t know how to appreciate… IOM. I am very happy.” Her dream now is to rebuild her life, free from fear.

67,000 stranded Nigerian migrants rescued in 9 year
The United Nations International Organisation for Migration (UN-IOM) has rescued more than 67,000 stranded Nigerian migrants and empowered at least 30,000 returnees since 2017.

Fatima Adeyemi, IOM project assistant on awareness raising, stated this at a recent migration reporting workshop in Lagos.

“On migrant protection, the IOM has rescued over 67,000 stranded Nigerian migrants through its Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration programme since 2017,” she said.

“So far, over 30,000 of those Nigerian returned migrants have received psychological, social, and economic integration-related support,” she added.

Adeyemi noted that the IOM is intensifying efforts to promote safe and legal migration pathways, while urging greater public awareness and responsible media coverage of migration issues.