Our male Chinese employers sexually abused us - Rescued Nigerian miners open up

The returning Nigerian miners from the Central African Republic (CAR) have accused their Chinese male employers of sexual harassment.

The 12 miners spoke while being received by the chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, in Abuja on Friday, August 15, 2025.

This is contained in a statement issued by Abdurrahman Balogun, Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols at the commission.

The Nigerian miners, who were stranded in CAR, were rescued and repatriated through a joint effort of NiDCOM, in conjunction with key government agencies.

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The three-week repatriation process started with an initial evacuation from a remote village in CAR, where they were stranded, to the Nigerian embassy in Bangui, the country’s capital city, and eventually to Abuja on Thursday.

Speaking at the NiDCOM office, Igorigo Freeborn, leader of the rescued workers, recounted how the group endured harsh, unsafe conditions in the forest after their recruiters abandoned them without pay.

Freeborn said amid 11 months’ unpaid salaries, “we were homosexually abused by our 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 appealed to the Federal Government to help obtain justice for the ordeal they suffered at the hands of their employers.

The miner confessed that he was an unpatriotic citizen who did not “think anything good can come out of the country, but we were all so happy to receive help and succour from Nigeria.”

For her part, Dabiri-Erewa described the miners' experience as inhumane, assuring that justice will be served as the commission, in conjunction with relevant government agencies, would take up the matter.

She counselled the returning miners to be of good behaviour and partner with the commission in its advocacy on irregular migration and its consequences.

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NiDCOM provided the group with cash support to aid in their resettlement, pending the payment of their salaries. Additionally, Perchstone and Greys, a law firm, made a cash donation to the miners.

Other rescued workers are Rotimi Kupoluyi, Ajosi Julius, Odeh Collins, Anifowoshe Yekini, Akubo Oluwaseun, Olayemi Peter Adewale, Stephen Abel Otkli, Samuel Ojochenemi, Alih Joel Muhammed, Unekwu Bala and Yusuf Bameyi.