By Ugochukwu Alaribe

UMUAHIA -For Miss Ihechi Uchenna and Miss Evelyn Gabriel,it has been two years of torture and living under all kinds of abuses in the North African country, Libya.

Ihechi and Evelyn had journeyed to Libya in 2023, following promises of greener pastures by their sponsors, which turned traumatic as they were held hostage as house maids ,contrary to the promises made to them before the journey.

” Slave Camp’

It was clearly a journey of ‘slavery’ as the duo claimed that they were deceived by their supposed benefactors who sponsored their journey to the North African country.

They have been living under hellish conditions, subjected to daily abuses – praying for rescue. Videos of their stay in the ‘slave camp’, calling for rescue, went viral in the internet.

Both had indicated interest to return to Nigeria,but they were held because they must pay the debts owed their sponsors. Sources said that they attempted to escape from the detention camp on several occasions,but were caught and treated with more dehumanizing conditions. The sponsors were said to have warned that they were risking their lives trying to escape as they may be killed.

They insisted that the girls ‘must work’ according to the alleged agreement they signed or get somebody to pay off the debts before they would be freed.

A good Samaritan to the rescue

However,rescue came their way when the sad stories and videos got to a business mogul and chieftain of the Labour Party, Hon. Peter Azubuike, who acted under the auspices of the Obingwa Youth Empowerment Summit – a body committed to the welfare of Youths in Obingwa council area council area of Abia State.

The Youth Empowerment Summit had set up a committee on travels and interventions led by Evangelist Emma Josiah,who also helped to coordinate the ‘rescue operation’.

Hon. Azubuike had contacted the chairman of the Abia State Union in Libya, Comrade Ifeanyi Nworu, who also gave a detailed account of the ordeal of the two Abia born ladies in the North African nation.

The problem was then; how to raise money to offset the outstanding debts which the ladies were said to have been committed to,in their journey to Libya. Another issue was how to raise money to cover the cost of travel to Nigeria.

Flowing with the milk of human kindness, Azubuike, who is the facilitator of the Obingwa Youth Empowerment Summit, paid off the debts ‘owed’ the sponsors of the two ladies, running into millions of Naira.

He also paid for the cost of their return from Libya to Nigeria. Not done with their returning home, on August 11, during a meeting of the Youth summit,the businessman donated N500,000 each to the two returnees to enable start up small scale businesses to fend for themselves. He further pledged to continue supporting them until their businesses start thriving.

Speaking on how he became interested in assisting to rescue the two ladies, the business mogul said he was touched by their living conditions, living in a ‘slave camp’, in a foreign country.

He said the video of their sufferings gave him sleepless nights as he thought of how to assist to rescue them.

Azubuike explained that he could not stand the sight of the two indigenes from his native Obingwa council, living as slaves in a foreign country.

Sensitization campaign

He advocated for an intensive campaign to sensitize natives of the area , especially those who are being sponsored to seek greener pastures, abroad- warning that such promises usually turn to regrettable experiences.

He said;”From what has happened,we can see that most of people, especially girls,who are being sponsored to travel with sweet promises, do not even know why they are being sponsored to travel.I spoke to one of the girls when I learnt about their ordeal in Libya. What he told me about the camp is terrible. They went through lots of abuses from their sponsors. Imagine that we had to pay them off with a huge sum of money before they agreed to release them. Many people have perished on such journeys, others returned alive but can no longer do anything useful to help themselves because of the abuses they were subjected to in a foreign land. So, we must thank God that these ones returned alive. I was touched,I had sleepless after watching the video ,as I thought of what to do, there was no way I could have allowed my sister’s to continue to suffer as slaves in a foreign land.

“I’m calling for an intensive campaign to sensitize our people who may want to take such route tomorrow based on promises of green pastures. Let them know that there is danger in such travels,what is promised is not what you see when you get there. Our people should learn a lesson from the experiences of these two sisters.”

Commending the businessman and the Obingwa Youth Empowerment Summit, the two returnees, Ihechi and Evelyn narrated their ordeal, stressing that they were deceived with promises of good life and money in Libya, but things got worse when they got Libya and were sent to a detention camp where they were subjected to all manners of abuses.

They said they lost hope of freedom as they were made to sign agreements to work and pay off their sponsors before they could be released.

Commenting on the situation,a cross section of members of the Obingwa Youth Empowerment Summit, commended Azubuike for the gesture and prayed God to bless him.

They also urged him to heed their call to represent the Obingwa/ Osisioma Ngwa/ Ugwunagbo federal constituency in the 2027 general election, stressing that he has done a lot in supporting the people of the area.

Also speaking, Mr. Victor Njoku described the businessman as a man who is always happy to come to the aid of the less privileged and needy people and prayed God’s blessings on him.