Olaonipekun Adenike, a 30-year-old single mother from Sagamu in Ogun State, has shared the harrowing details of her journey from Nigeria to Libya, marked by abuse, sexual violence, and betrayal.
In an interview, Adenike explained how a woman her family trusted lured her into what was presented as a chance to improve her life abroad.
Her journey, however, turned out to be a brutal three-month ordeal across deserts and foreign borders.
Her struggles began after financial difficulties forced her to abandon her studies at the National Open University in Abeokuta.
A childhood acquaintance of her mother contacted her via Facebook, promising to help her travel to Libya and secure a better life.
But instead of hope, the road ahead brought suffering. Travelling by land through Kano, Niger Republic, and various countries, she endured extreme hardship in the desert where she and others were left without food or water.
“There were times we had to drink our own urine to stay alive. People died around us from exhaustion and illness.”
Adenike also revealed she was sexually assaulted by border officials along the route.
“The people who raped me weren’t even those I travelled with. It was the police officers at the border who randomly picked some of us, violated us, and then let us go.”
Upon reaching Libya, she discovered she had been sold to a Ghanaian man by the same woman who had promised to help her.
Her identity was altered, and she was given a Ghanaian passport under a new name — Ibrahim Aishat.
Forced into domestic labour for 18 months, Adenike said her wages were taken by her captors.
A failed attempt to seek help from the Nigerian embassy landed her in prison.
Despite her mother selling a piece of land to bribe Libyan authorities for her release, she remained jailed until a kind police officer helped her escape.
However, her ordeal didn’t end there. She was sold again — this time into a brothel where she was stripped and offered to men against her will.
“I refused to sleep with customers, and they beat me for it. It was pure hell,” she said.
Eventually, she managed to return to the Nigerian embassy and was among those airlifted back to Nigeria on a government-sponsored evacuation flight.
On arrival in Port Harcourt, she was profiled and later resettled in Abeokuta by the Ogun State Government.
Now back home, Adenike has become an advocate against irregular migration and human trafficking.
She founded the Foundation for Action Against Irregular Migration to educate young Nigerians on the dangers of illegal migration.
“I wrote a book titled My Journey, which I distribute for free to schools and youths to raise awareness,” she said.
While she acknowledged some support from the Ogun State Government and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Adenike said life remains challenging as a single mother trying to rebuild her future.
“I still dream of completing my education if I get the opportunity,” she added.
Adenike also appealed to the Federal Government to support returnees like herself and suggested she be appointed an ambassador for returnees, leveraging her foundation and story to educate and protect others.
