It was supposed to be a journey to a better life. For Precious, Peace, and Evans, it turned into a nightmare they may never fully forget.
On Tuesday, their painful return to Nigeria marked both relief and heartbreak, as the Edo State Government received the three trafficked indigenes rescued from Burkina Faso.
Among them was a young woman whose life has been permanently altered she lost her sight after enduring severe abuse in the hands of traffickers.
For Evans, the ordeal began in January 2026. Lured by promises of greener pastures, he left Edo State hopeful. But upon arrival in Burkina Faso, his dream collapsed.
He was arrested and locked away, cut off from help, until fate intervened.
“I was deceived the moment I got there, I was imprisoned,” he recounted quietly, still grappling with the trauma.
The stories of Precious and Peace were no less harrowing. Drawn in by the promise of decent jobs, the two young women soon found themselves trapped in a web of exploitation. Forced into prostitution, they resisted only to face brutal consequences.
Beaten, dehumanized, and stripped of their dignity, one of them paid an even steeper price. The violence she endured left her blind.
Her return home was met with urgency, as officials moved swiftly to get her medical attention, hoping against hope that something could still be done.
Speaking at the Benin Airport, the Director General of the Edo State Migration Agency, Hon. Lucky Agazuma, described the moment as bittersweet.
“It is quite a happy and a sad day,” he said, reflecting on the victims’ rescue and the trauma they suffered.
According to him, the breakthrough came after Nigeria’s Ambassador to Burkina Faso raised the alarm over the plight of stranded Edo indigenes.
The alert quickly reached the state government, prompting immediate action.
Behind the scenes, efforts had already been underway. Intelligence gathered by the agency led to the arrest of one suspect linked to the trafficking network, with investigations still ongoing.
Back home, however, another struggle continues. Authorities are still searching for the family of the visually impaired victim, believed to be from Uselu in Benin City. So far, all efforts to trace her relatives have failed, leaving officials to appeal to the public for help.
Despite the trauma, there is a glimmer of hope. The state government says it has activated its rehabilitation process to help the victims heal and reintegrate into society.
But for these three survivors, especially the young woman who can no longer see, the scars of their ordeal may linger far beyond their return etched not just in memory, but in the life they must now learn to rebuild.
