EXCLUSIVE: Trafficked Nigerian Woman Still Jailed In Iraq Despite Court Convicting Rapist Employer, Ordering $2,000 Compensation

 

EXCLUSIVE: Trafficked Nigerian Woman Still Jailed In Iraq Despite Court Convicting Rapist Employer, Ordering $2,000 Compensation

SaharaReporters had in March 2025 reported that Omowunmi, a resident of Ekiti State in Southwestern Nigeria, was trafficked to Iraq on October 7, 2023, by a man linked to her sister’s husband.

A27-year-old Nigerian woman, Francis Julianah Omowunmi, who was trafficked to Iraq and subjected to rape and abuse by her employer, remains imprisoned in Iraq despite a court ruling that sentenced her abuser to jail, SaharaReporters has exclusively learnt.

 

SaharaReporters had in March 2025 reported that Omowunmi, a resident of Ekiti State in Southwestern Nigeria, was trafficked to Iraq on October 7, 2023, by a man linked to her sister’s husband.

 

She recounted how she was handed over to a trafficking network — first to an agent in Akure, the Ondo State capital, and then to another agent in Lagos identified as Alhaja Nafisat, who deceptively facilitated her travel to Iraq with false promises of a better life.

Omowunmi revealed that her Iraqi employer not only raped and physically assaulted her but also conspired with his wife, children, and friends to threaten her with death if she dared report the abuse to the authorities or her family.

 

She said the repeated assaults left her deeply traumatized and fearful for her life, especially after the employer allegedly conspired with others to force an unsafe abortion on her, which caused severe pain. She was again threatened with death if she spoke out.

Nigerian Woman Trafficked To Iraq And Allegedly Raped By Employer Pleads For Help To Return Home
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the same employer who orchestrated her arrest and detention later attempted, through his lawyer, to pressure her into recanting her allegations by falsely claiming in court that she had not been raped.

 

Omowunmi recounted a particular incident where the employer visited her madam’s father’s house and, in a moment of confession, admitted to raping her. He pleaded with her not to report him and offered to give her anything she wanted in return for her silence.

 

Speaking to SaharaReporters about the current state of Omowunmi’s case, Damilola of Hopes Haven Foundation, a Nigerian human rights organisation, confirmed that a lawyer representing the employer had reached out to initiate an out-of-court sethe

 

According to Damilola, the organisation’s legal team held a conference call with the Iraqi lawyer and Omowunmi’s elder sister, during which conditions for a possible settlement were outlined. He said the Iraqi lawyer accepted the terms.

 

Damilola said Omowunmi’s elder sister had alerted Hopes Haven Foundation that the Iraqi lawyer representing her employer attempted to pressure Omowunmi into making false statements in court to exonerate her abuser.

 

After Omowunmi was forced to withdraw the case and return to her employer’s home, her situation worsened. She was subjected to fresh abuse by her madam, who accused her of “smelling” and locked her in a room without food for six months.

 

Despite being told she would be sent back to Nigeria, no effort was made to facilitate her return.

 

Omowunmi further revealed that her employer brought one of his friends, who attempted to force her into lying under oath by denying that her boss had raped her. She was presented with a document to sign, which falsely claimed she had fabricated the rape allegations in order to demand her unpaid salary.

 

The statement also alleged that she had been treated with respect and kindness by her employer and had willingly abandoned the court case. Omowunmi said she refused to sign the document, knowing it was a complete distortion of the truth.

 

As a result of her refusal, she was taken back into custody while the legal proceedings continued in Iraq.

 

However, on Tuesday, SaharaReporters reliably learnt that an Iraqi court had found Omowunmi innocent and convicted her employer. He was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay her $2,000 in compensation.

 

“An Iraqi court declared her innocent and sent her employer to jail, but we don’t know why they are still keeping her in jail,” Damilola told SaharaReporters.

 

He also revealed that although Omowunmi’s convicted employer had paid the $2,000 compensation ordered by the court to an Iraqi prison official, both the money and Omowunmi remain unjustifiably held in prison.

 

“Her convicted employer was made to pay her $2,000, which was handed over to a warder in the jail where she is kept,” he said.

 

SaharaReporters reached out to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for comments on Omowunmi’s case.

 

However, the agency’s spokesperson, Vincent Adekoye, did not respond to multiple phone calls and failed to reply to a WhatsApp message—despite having read it.