Adeola Omotoso, daughter of seasoned Nollywood actress Jumoke George, has opened up about her terrifying ordeal of being trafficked and forced into prostitution in Mali.
In a recent interview, Adeola explained that her nightmare began when someone offered her what appeared to be a legitimate job opportunity abroad.
“A woman told me about traveling to Mali to work for someone who owned a pharmacy,” she said.
Without informing her family, Adeola accepted the offer and embarked on a four-day journey by road through Cotonou, Togo, Ghana, and other countries until she reached Bamako, the capital of Mali.
Upon arrival, she called the contact she had been given, only to discover the grim truth: she had been sold into human trafficking.
“When I arrived at the address, the woman told me she was my ‘madam’ and that she had bought me from my sister. She said I owed her 1.5 million CFA francs and would have to pay it off through prostitution,” Adeola revealed.
Horrified, Adeola refused and declared that she would rather die than sell her body. Her defiance led to the confiscation of her phone and travel documents.
“I was devastated and couldn’t believe I was in that situation. When I told her I couldn’t be a prostitute, she threatened me, but I stood my ground.”
Despite her resistance, she was taken to a brothel. Still refusing to engage in sex work, she pleaded to do other forms of labor instead. Eventually, she encountered a compassionate man who helped her escape and secured her a job selling food in another area.
“While working there, I heard harrowing stories and saw fellow Nigerians who died from the trauma of prostitution,” she said. “I was ashamed and couldn’t bring myself to call my mother or children. I thought about dying in silence and even asked my roommate not to post my picture if I passed away.”
After enduring four years of hardship, Adeola was finally rescued and reunited with her family earlier this week. Her emotional return was marked by the presence of her mother Jumoke George, the Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and actor Adeniyi Johnson.
Reflecting on her survival, Adeola expressed heartfelt gratitude:
“I don’t know how righteous my mother must be before God, but I believe her prayers saved me from the evil that could have consumed me in Mali.”