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Summary
A Nigerian woman trafficked to Iraq is being pressured by her employer’s lawyer to deny rape in court. A human rights group, Hopes Haven Foundation, is calling on the government to help secure her release, compensation, and safe return.
A Nigerian human rights group, Hopes Haven Foundation, has raised alarm over the continued detention of Francis Julianah Omowunmi, a 27-year-old Nigerian woman trafficked to Iraq. The group reported that she was raped and abused by her employer and is now being coerced to deny the assault.
The foundation disclosed to SaharaReporters that Omowunmi’s Iraqi employer, who reportedly orchestrated her arrest has, through a lawyer, attempted to force her to withdraw her rape claims by lying in court.
Omowunmi, who hails from Ekiti State, said she was lured to Iraq in October 2023 under false pretences by traffickers who promised her a better life. She was transferred through agents in Akure and Lagos before being sent abroad by one Alhaja Nafisat.
According to her, after arriving in Iraq, her employer raped and assaulted her multiple times and conspired with his family to silence her through threats and abuse. She also claimed to have undergone a forced abortion, leaving her traumatised and in constant fear for her life.
Despite initial promises of return to Nigeria, she remained detained. Omowunmi said the employer brought in a friend to force her to sign a statement denying the rape and withdrawing her lawsuit. She refused to sign, leading to her re-arrest and continued imprisonment.
Hopes Haven Foundation suggested settling the case out of court during a call with the employer’s lawyer and Omowunmi’s sister, who is also in Iraq. The conditions included Omowunmi’s release from prison, her return ticket to Nigeria, her unpaid salary of $1,200, and a total compensation of $7,000. The employer’s lawyer reportedly agreed.
However, the lawyer later visited Omowunmi in prison and reportedly tried to pressure her into testifying in court that she fabricated the rape claims because she wasn’t paid her wages. This, according to the Foundation, violates the earlier agreement and could lead to her imprisonment for defamation.
The lawyer reportedly responded that they would proceed to court and vowed to use his influence to ensure Omowunmi is jailed if she maintains her original statement.
Calling for urgent intervention, Hopes Haven Foundation appealed to the Nigerian government to intervene and ensure Omowunmi’s immediate release, fair compensation, and safe return to Nigeria.
“We are using this medium to send an SOS to the Nigerian government to get across to her employer as soon as possible and ensure that she is released, justice is served, she is paid all that she is supposed to be paid, and she gets compensated adequately.”
