A Nigerian family is desperately searching for their daughter, Halimat Oluwadamilola Boluwatife Lawal, who mysteriously disappeared in January 2022 after allegedly setting out on a dangerous journey believed to be linked to human trafficking routes into Libya.
For more than four years, the family says they have lived in pain, confusion, and unanswered questions — clinging to hope that Halimat may still be alive somewhere, even as they fear she may have fallen into the hands of traffickers.
Speaking in an emotional interview with SaharaReporters, Halimat’s mother said the nightmare began when her daughter informed her of plans to travel. She said she immediately warned her against it, especially after hearing she intended to go to Libya.
“I told her not to go because I didn’t know what they were doing over there,” the grieving mother said.
According to her, Halimat later claimed she was going to visit a family house in Ifo, but never returned. A few days later, the family received a shocking phone call.
“She called me after three days and said she was in Kano. I asked her how she got there after I warned her, but she suddenly hung up,” the mother recalled.
That would be the last time she directly heard from her daughter.
Confusing Calls, False Death Claims, and Four Years of Pain
Halimat’s sister said what followed was a disturbing chain of events that only deepened the family’s fears.
Not long after Halimat’s brief call from Kano, someone else reportedly called using her phone and told their mother that the vehicle she boarded had been involved in an accident and that everyone on board, including Halimat, had died.
But later, another caller contradicted that story.
According to the family, the second person claimed Halimat was still alive and had instead been taken to another location, allegedly along a trafficking route leading toward Libya.
Since then, the family says they have had no confirmed contact, no verified sighting, and no official update about where she is or whether she is safe.
For years, they searched from place to place, spending money they could barely afford, following every possible lead in the hope of finding her.
Her mother said she has spent over ₦150,000 trying to locate her missing daughter.
Hope Turned Into Another Nightmare
In March 2026, the family believed they were finally getting close to answers after they shared Halimat’s pictures on social media and asked Nigerians to help spread the word.
That online appeal reportedly attracted the attention of a man who connected them to someone described as an “agent” known as Mr. Damola.
According to Halimat’s sister, the agent claimed he had contacts in Libya and said one of their workers there had found Halimat in Tripoli, allegedly in poor condition.
He reportedly told the family that food and clothes had been taken to her and that efforts were being made to rescue her.
For a family already drowning in fear and uncertainty, that information felt like a lifeline.
But instead of bringing their daughter home, the family says they were dragged into a painful scheme of repeated financial demands.
Family Says They Were Exploited While Looking for Their Daughter
The family alleged that the supposed agent began requesting money for various reasons, including transport, official letters, and supposed approvals from Libyan authorities.
They said they first paid ₦70,000, then another ₦50,000, before being asked to produce additional documents from a lawyer, a civil servant, and a pastor.
Struggling to meet the demands, the family said they even paid another ₦15,000 through a third party to secure those letters.
Each request came with fresh promises that Halimat would soon be rescued.
But according to the family, none of it led anywhere.
Their fears that they had been deceived were later strengthened after the intervention of Mr. Damilola Adeola of Hopes Haven Foundation, a civil society organisation that reportedly stepped in to assist.
The family claimed that after the activist contacted the alleged agent directly, he suddenly changed his story and allegedly admitted he had no real information about Halimat.
According to Halimat’s sister, the man then began pleading and promised to refund the money in installments of ₦20,000 per week.
But she says that promise has also not been fulfilled.
Agent Denies Everything
When contacted by SaharaReporters, the man accused by the family denied both the allegations and even the name they identified him with.
“First of all, my name is not Damola,” he reportedly said.
He also denied knowing anything about Halimat’s case or collecting money from the family.
But Halimat’s sister strongly insists that he is lying.
She said she still has chat records and the same phone number used in all their conversations, including messages as recently as March 27, when he allegedly continued promising to return the money.
A Family Begging Not to Be Forgotten
Now, with no confirmed word from Halimat since 2022, her family says they are turning to the public and authorities for urgent help.
They fear she may still be alive — but trapped in terrible conditions somewhere in Libya, a country long linked to trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable migrants from Nigeria and across Africa.
For Halimat’s mother, the pain has become almost unbearable.
She is not asking for sympathy anymore.
She is asking for her daughter.
And after four long years of searching, crying, spending, and hoping, one question still remains: