The Edo State indigene, whose emotion-laden interview with CNN’s Nima Elbagir in a Libyan deportation camp, was viewed by millions worldwide, shared his life-experiences in T.B. Joshua’s church on Sunday.

The young barber explained that his father died when he was just 11, adding that he struggled to sponsor himself through school along with his five siblings.

“When I was cutting the hair of one of my customer’s, he advised me to go to Europe where he promised I could earn a lot of money,” Mr. Imasuen recounted.

“I asked the man how much it would cost me. He said N350,000 but I said I only had N140,000 with me,” he said. Mr. Imasuen had been determinedly saving N10,000 monthly for over one year.
‎
The man promised to ‘help’, not knowing that Mr. Imasuen was naively about to use his own hard-earned cash to sell himself into slavery.
Travelling by road on a tortuous journey through Niger, the young Nigerian explained how one of the vehicles in his convoy had a “terrible accident” in the Sahara Desert, killing 30 people instantly.

“Upon arriving in Libya, the driver said he had not been paid his money and we were sold into the slave trade in Sabha.” Mr. Imasuen said he and ten other Nigerians were ‘sold’ and then “locked up in one small room.” More than 200 slaves were kept inside that inhumane cell.

“They started beating me to call my mother to send money. That was when my mother learned I was not in Nigeria – because I did not tell her before I left,” he admitted.

The ransom they demanded – N200,000 – was simply too much for Mr. Imasuen’s poverty-stricken mother to raise.

“For months, I did not hear from her. They kept on beating me everyday and I fell sick. If I went to the toilet, I was shitting blood.”
Mr. Imasuen said he was beaten three times daily for eight gruelling months. That was his fate as a male.

For the ladies sold into slavery, “they would send them out to do prostitution before selling them to another person; I know of a girl there who was sold three times.”

According to him, most of the enslaved females fell pregnant “without even knowing the father of the child.”
When a picture of Mr. Imasuen’s emaciated condition was circulated in his local community, they managed to come together to raise the money to secure his freedom in March 2017.

After gaining his freedom, he attempted to travel to Tripoli, hoping to join the thousands of illegal migrants who would brave the sea to try and reach Italy by boat.

“I didn’t even get to Tripoli before I was caught and taken to prison. I met more than 10,000 Nigerians there. We only eat once a day there – one piece of bread. I would drink salt water.”
‎
While suffering the horrific prison conditions, Mr. Imasuen hatched a plan to reach the deportation camp. He slipped a note into the female section of the prison, pleading that any of the ladies who was being taken for deportation claim he was their husband.

The ruse worked and Mr. Imasuen was taken to Tripoli’s main deportation camp – one step closer to being repatriated to Nigeria. It was there he granted an interview to CNN, he said.

“I decided to speak to them, hoping to get help but at the end, nothing came out of it,” he bemoaned. Through the intervention of the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, Mr. Imasuen was finally deported to Nigeria – with nothing but the clothes on his back to show for his “journey through hell”.

“Upon getting to Nigeria, I decided to come to T.B. Joshua because even before I left, I heard of the help he renders to others. I need prayer.”
Osazee Aghimie, another deportee, equally shared his own sorrowful tale, explaining how over 100 migrants died in the boat he was in after it capsized en route to Italy. He narrowly survived only to be thrown into prison and eventually deported.

T.B. Joshua, who had just returned from the Dominican Republic, gave the two men each N200,000. Mr. Imasuen could not hold back tears as he received the gift.

Mr. Joshua’s support to the duo is not an isolated instance. This week alone, the cleric gave over N4.4 million to Nigerians returning from Libya, and well over N100 million ($277,000) has been provided to them by The SCOAN since 2016.

SOURCE: Premium Times - https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/251297-i-became-slave-libya-nigerian-victim.html

In short you were sold like a bush meat,

Since you took to calling Nigeria a zoo, they have decided to treat you like animals.

Libyans are goat.

We continue to thank APC zombies for facilitating Libyan slavery

Greed and poor mentality makes slaves of men especially Nigerians.

take heart bro

So na felo 9ja man sell im brother how unfortunate

Greed ! Imaging this niggah can even save 10k monthly and from better living standard southern Nigeria, still embark on journey to cross tru a lawless country that's run by bandits,tribal warlords and wicked people, up till now i didn't come across any person from war ravaged borno,yobe or adamawa that's risking his life to europe, guy i don't feel ur pain i just feel sorry for you.

I hope your story is enough lesson to all those desert walkers cos i knw 2moro someone else will still tow this path ,pretending not to hsve heard all the shit that happens on the way

There is a legal way of getting to Europe. Avoid short cuts. Short cuts lead to disasters such as this.

iambijo:
Greed ! Imaging this niggah can even save 10k monthly and from better living standard southern Nigeria, still embark on journey to cross tru a lawless country that's run by bandits,tribal warlords and wicked people, up till now i didn't come across any person from war ravaged borno,yobe or adamawa that's risking his life to europe, guy i don't feel ur pain i just feel sorry for you.

Help me ask them abeg. People from Borno and environs no run, na person wey de see food chop de run

The money you saved up should have been used to expand your business. You paid to be a slave

iambijo:
Greed ! Imaging this niggah can even save 10k monthly and from better living standard southern Nigeria, still embark on journey to cross tru a lawless country that's run by bandits,tribal warlords and wicked people, up till now i didn't come across any person from war ravaged borno,yobe or adamawa that's risking his life to europe, guy i don't feel ur pain i just feel sorry for you.

****.
You think 10k is money? How long will it take for him to live an average life, get married and fulfill his dreams if he can only get a 10k savings on a full time monthly hustle?
Pray make bad thing no do you. Some people are comfortable in penury, it's not a crime if others aren't.

VocalWalls:



You are an idiot if you think aspiring for a better future is greed.
You think 10k is money? How long will it take for him to live an average life, get married and fulfill his dreams if he can only get a 10k savings on a full time monthly hustle?
Pray make bad thing no do you. Some people are comfortable in penury, it's not a crime if others aren't.

And taking dangerous shortcuts like this is what you advise? Hmmm....and IF he gets to Europe, what job will he be doin without papers?

Son go locate the fella and drink from his cup of wisdom which painful experience has taught him!!

Rebelutionary:

And taking dangerous shortcuts like this is what you advise? Hmmm....and IF he gets to Europe, what job will he be doin without papers?

Son go locate the fella and drink from his cup of wisdom which painful experience has taught him!!

I don't advise it but you have no rights to judge a desperate man.

Thank God u are now safe

So u were able to save up 10k per month and you risked the desert and libya, so as to run abroad ?

Y not save that same amount and start up something.

s

Nigerians selling fellow Nigerians. Just like the slave trade that happened in the past where Africans sold their own and relatives to the white men

......... When a picture of Mr. Imasuen’s emaciated condition was
circulated in his local community, they managed to come
together to raise the money to secure his freedom in March
2017.

After gaining his freedom, he attempted to travel to Tripoli,
hoping to join the thousands of illegal migrants who would
brave the sea to try and reach Italy by boat.

“I didn’t even get to Tripoli before I was caught and taken to
prison. I met more than 10,000 Nigerians there. We only eat
once a day there – one piece of bread. I would drink salt
water.”......


Even after regaining his freedom, he still made another attempt that got him right back to prison.

I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DESPERATION

I keep asking why will someone save such huge amount and suffer to get to Europe .

Edo and abroad

pathetic! When somebody. promise u UK,US Visa in 2 wks for 500k,pls,use/employ ur 6 sense not 5. Rather than UK/US visa,u might find urself in Sudan,no time..To all GREEDY yoot,there's abundance here in Nig,only the sharp ones see/grab it.That was how i saw US visa advert here.I Whatsapp/play along with the suppose visa agent.Com see how the goat dey speak in unknown tongue/ lang.If u must travel,go to the embassy not one corner stuff.A young lady was arrested last month over Germany oluwole visa.

Lord help us!

Wow so so sad...

otokx:
Greed and poor mentality makes slaves of men especially Nigerians.

Correct.

K

imhotep:
We continue to thank APC zombies for Libyan slavery

With comments like this, it is a pity wailers are yet to recover from mental slavery of PDP i6 years of failure.