Nigeria: Stories of modern-day slavery (and the under-funded fight to end it)

mercy akan, trafficked from oron in akwa ibom to lagos where she escaped back to oron, akwa ibom, nigeria poses friday, ‎may ‎7, ‎2021 at he...

Valentine Iwenwanne

Valentine Iwenwanne

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Mercy Akan, trafficked from Oron in Akwa Ibom to Lagos where she escaped back to Oron, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria poses Friday, ‎May ‎7, ‎2021 at her house in Oron. (Catholic Herald photo/Valentine Iwenwanne)

Quest for a better living exposes unsuspecting Nigerians to dangers of trafficking
By Valentine Iwenwanne

— Uyo, Nigeria — On a sunny Tuesday afternoon in October 2012, a posh black Sport-Utility Vehicle pulled up in front of Mercy Akan’s aunt’s provision shop in Oron, a coastal city and the third largest city in Akwa Ibom. Oron is located in the southern corner of Nigeria. Two of the five male occupants got down from the SUV and approached her with vague promises of a better life in Europe.

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