Nigerian miners who were stranded in the Central African Republic, CAR, have recounted their ordeal, saying they were sexually abused by their Chinese male employers.
Recall that the chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, received 12 miners on Friday in Abuja.
This was contained in a statement by the Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols at the commission, Abdurrahman Balogun.
Narrating their experiences at the NiDCOM office, the leader of the rescued workers, Igorigo Freeborn, recalled how they lived in harsh, unsafe conditions in the forest after their recruiters abandoned them without pay.
According to him, in spite of the 11 months’ unpaid salaries, they were homosexually abused by their Chinese employers in CAR.
“I am not ashamed to say it. I want other people to learn from it. We were treated badly there, but thank God for sparing our lives to tell the stories today,” he added.
Feeborn appealed to the federal government to help redress the injustices they suffered at the hands of their employers.
He added that he was an unpatriotic citizen who did not think anything good can come out of the country, stressing that they were all happy to receive help and succour from Nigeria.
Speaking, Dabiri-Erewa described their ordeal as inhumane and assured that justice will be served, saying the commission in conjunction with relevant government agencies would take up the matter.
She also advised the rescued men to be of good behaviour and partner with the commission in its advocacy on irregular migration and its consequences.
