By Anifowoshe Oladipupo
Adeola Omotoso, daughter of Nollywood veteran Jumoke George, has shared her harrowing experience of being trafficked to Mali for prostitution, revealing how a promise of honest work turned into a terrifying ordeal.
Speaking in an emotional interview with actress Biola Adebayo, Adeola recounted how she was lured by a woman who claimed to have a pharmacy job opportunity abroad.
Trusting the offer, she embarked on a journey by road, passing through Cotonou, Togo, and Ghana, unaware of the danger that awaited her in Bamako, Mali.
“I met someone who introduced travelling to Mali to me. She said she knows someone who owns a pharmacy and asked if I could travel there to handle the business,” she recalled. “I agreed but didn’t inform anyone at home.”
Upon arriving in Mali, Adeola was shocked when the woman who welcomed her declared, “she is my madam and that she bought me from my sister. She said I’ll work to pay her 1.5 million CFA francs.”
Realising she had been trafficked, Adeola resisted. “I told her I can’t do it and would rather die,” she said. “She threatened me, and I told her she’s free to do whatever she wants.”
Her refusal to comply led to the seizure of her phone and travel documents. She was taken to a brothel but managed to escape with the help of a man who found her a job as a food vendor.
With visible emotion, Adeola said, “I don’t know how good my mum is before God that made him save me from all the evil that was about to befall me in Mali.”
Her story shines a light on the dark underworld of human trafficking and the plight of many young women tricked into sexual slavery under the guise of job opportunities.
