A Nigerian human rights organisation, Hopes Haven Foundation, has raised a distressing alarm over the plight of Francis Julianah Omowunmi, a 27-year-old Nigerian woman trafficked to Iraq, allegedly raped, abused, and now coerced into retracting her claims under legal duress.
The foundation is calling on the Nigerian Federal Government to immediately intervene and secure Omowunmi’s release from an Iraqi prison, warning that she faces not only grave injustice but also a potential life-threatening situation orchestrated by her alleged abuser.
According to the Foundation, Omowunmi’s employer — who was earlier accused of raping and physically assaulting her — has through his legal representatives attempted to manipulate court proceedings by coercing her into falsely testifying that no rape occurred.
Omowunmi’s ordeal came to light in a March 12, 2025 report by SaharaReporters, where she made a desperate appeal from Iraq, revealing how she had been trafficked under false pretenses, then subjected to inhumane treatment.
Originally from Ekiti State in southwestern Nigeria, Omowunmi said her nightmare began on October 7, 2023, when she was lured abroad by a man introduced to her by her brother-in-law. He handed her over to a trafficking network, beginning with an agent in Akure, Ondo State, and ending with a woman identified as Alhaja Nafisat in Lagos. Nafisat, she said, promised her a better life abroad — but trafficked her to Iraq instead.
What awaited Omowunmi in Iraq was not opportunity, but brutal exploitation. She alleged her employer not only raped her repeatedly but also involved his wife, children, and friends in silencing her with threats of death. In a particularly chilling account, she said they performed a forced abortion on her after she discovered she was pregnant from the abuse.
“I was deeply traumatised,” Omowunmi recounted. “After realising I missed my period, I confided in my employer’s wife. That was when things escalated. My employer admitted he raped me, begged me not to report him, and offered me anything in exchange for my silence.”
Instead of protection, Omowunmi said she was punished for speaking up. “When I withdrew the case and returned to the house, my madam began maltreating me. For six months, I was locked indoors, starved, and told I smelled.”
Although she was told she would be repatriated to Nigeria, no action was taken.
Pressure to Lie and Renewed Imprisonment
The situation deteriorated when her employer brought a friend to force Omowunmi to sign a false affidavit stating she had fabricated the rape allegation in a bid to claim unpaid salary.
She refused to sign, insisting she would not deny the truth — a decision that landed her back in prison even though the case remains in court.
Damilola, a spokesperson for Hopes Haven Foundation, revealed that the employer’s lawyer had contacted their organisation offering an out-of-court settlement. “We agreed to conditions: release her from prison, buy her flight ticket home, pay her outstanding salary of $1,200, and provide total compensation of $7,000. They agreed,” Damilola said.
However, the situation took a sinister turn.
“After that agreement, the same lawyer visited Omowunmi in prison and told her they would be heading to court. He promised to get her a lawyer but said she must deny the rape in court and claim she lied because her salary wasn’t paid,” Damilola disclosed.
Omowunmi’s elder sister, who resides in Baghdad, immediately alerted the foundation to the lawyer’s plan to manipulate her testimony and trap her in a legal bind. “We confronted the lawyer in a conference call. He insisted they were no longer interested in settlement and threatened to ensure she goes to jail if she insists on pursuing the rape claim,” Damilola said.
The foundation has since sent an urgent SOS to the Nigerian government, calling for immediate diplomatic intervention. “This is a life-and-death situation,” Damilola warned. “Julianah Omowunmi must not be left to face this evil alone. The Nigerian government must urgently step in to facilitate her release, ensure she is compensated, and that justice is served.”
This harrowing case is a painful reminder of the vulnerability of trafficked Nigerians abroad and the grave dangers they face in the hands of predators who believe they can operate above the law. The silence of the Nigerian authorities at this stage could have tragic consequences.
PIONEER NEWS 