Renowned Nollywood actress Jumoke George, daughter Adeola has returned to Nigeria after a harrowing four-year ordeal in Mali, where she was trafficked under false pretenses and sold into forced labor.
Speaking in a video posted on Biola Adebayo’s YouTube channel, Adeola recounted how a trusted family friend deceived her with the promise of a legitimate job opportunity abroad. She was told that a woman in Mali, who had recently opened a pharmacy, was looking to employ someone with a basic understanding of medicine.
With hopes of building a better future and the assurance of good pay, Adeola accepted the offer without informing her mother or any family members—fearing they would oppose the move.
The journey to Mali took five days. Upon arrival, Adeola contacted the woman she had been told would employ her.
However, instead of the expected job offer, she was confronted with a shocking revelation: she had been sold for ₦1.5 million and was now considered the buyer’s property. The woman informed her that she would have to work off the supposed “debt” before regaining her freedom.
She said: “I’m a victim of human trafficking. A family friend called me one day and asked if I would be interested in working in Mali, saying there was a job opening I might like. She explained that since I had some knowledge of medicine, there was a woman in Mali who had just opened a pharmacy and was looking for someone to work for her. I accepted the offer because she promised I would be paid well. This person was a very close family friend, and I trusted her so much that I didn’t even inform my mother or any other family member. “When I got to Mali, the woman I was to work for told me that I no longer owned myself because I had already been sold to her for ₦1.5 million.”
Watch interview below
