In a moment of raw outrage, the Nigerian Senate has sounded the alarm over the horrific abuse of Nigerian women and children languishing in Libyan prisons — victims of trafficking, torture, and a global system that has failed them.
Senator Aniekan Bassey called Libya a “corridor of death and despair,” exposing how traffickers lure desperate Nigerians with false promises of jobs, only to sell them into sexual slavery and forced labor. Many end up imprisoned — not as criminals, but as survivors of unspeakable violence.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan painted a chilling picture:
“These women were victims twice over — first of traffickers, then of a broken system. Several were raped in detention, forced into pregnancy, and now their children are growing up behind bars.”
Let that sink in: Nigerian children born in prison cells, punished for crimes they never committed.
The Senate’s resolution demands:
- Immediate diplomatic intervention
- Collaboration with Libyan authorities
- Repatriation of all Nigerian female inmates and their children
Why this matters:
- Over 1,000 Nigerians were repatriated from Libya in early 2025, many with stories of blood harvesting, sexual violence, and torture.
- One survivor, Mercy Olugbenga, sold her family’s property to escape poverty — only to be held captive and drained of her blood for over a year.
This isn’t just a humanitarian crisis. It’s a national shame.
And it raises uncomfortable questions:
- Why are traffickers still operating with impunity?
- Why has the global community turned a blind eye to African suffering?
- How many more Mercys must bleed before we act?
