A rescued Nigerian migrant, identified as Mercy Olugbenga, has revealed that her Libyan employer trapped her and repeatedly drained her blood, a harrowing ordeal she shared during an interview on ARISE TV’s Sunrise Daily program on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.
Mercy, who spent four years in Libya after being lured with promises of better prospects to support her sick mother, described being confined for over a year, during which nurses extracted her blood monthly to treat her employer’s ailing mother.
The 20-year-old, originally from Kogi State, said she endured modern-day slavery without pay for 18 months, a claim corroborated by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), which facilitated her rescue alongside the Trinity Foundation and the Nigerian Community in Libya.
Her story has sparked outrage, shedding light on the persistent abuse faced by Nigerian migrants in Libya, where exploitation and trafficking remain rampant despite repatriation efforts by organizations like the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Mercy’s return to Nigeria, announced by NiDCOM Chairperson Abike Dabiri-Erewa, marks a rare rescue following a viral distress call, but her account raises questions about the effectiveness of current safeguards for migrants. Details of her employer’s identity and the full scope of the incident remain unverified, leaving the narrative open to further investigation.
