For months, a group of Nigerian miners endured an ordeal they never imagined when they left home in search of greener pastures. Stranded in the dense forests of the Central African Republic (CAR), they say they were abandoned without pay, starved, and even sexually abused by their Chinese male employers.
When they finally made it back to Abuja, their faces carried both relief and grief. At the office of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), their leader, Igorigo Freeborn, spoke with a voice heavy with memory. “We were treated badly there. For 11 months, no salaries. We lived in the forest like animals. And worse — we were homosexually abused,” he said, pausing, as if measuring the weight of his confession. “I am not ashamed to say it. People need to know.”
The men’s journey highlights the hidden dangers of irregular migration and the desperation that drives many Nigerians to take such risks. Freeborn admitted that he once doubted Nigeria, never believing the government would stand for people like him. But returning home, he said, changed that perception: “We are grateful to still be alive and to be rescued by our own country.”
NiDCOM’s chairperson, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, condemned the miners’ treatment as inhumane and promised that justice would be pursued. She urged the men to become advocates against irregular migration, warning that too many Nigerians fall prey to deceptive recruiters who promise wealth abroad but deliver exploitation.
Beyond the headlines, this case leaves deeper questions: how many others are still trapped in similar conditions across Africa and beyond? What systems can Nigeria put in place to better protect its citizens abroad? And how do we, as a society, confront the silence around the abuse of men — a topic still shrouded in stigma?
For these 12 miners, survival means not just returning home, but reclaiming their dignity. Their story is a painful reminder that in the pursuit of survival, Nigerians often find themselves at the mercy of employers who see them as disposable. Yet, it is also a call — to government, to society, and to individuals — to protect and value human life, no matter where it is found.
