Family Raises Alarm Over Daughter’s Disappearance, Suspects Human Trafficking to Libya

A Nigerian family has raised an alarm over the mysterious disappearance of their daughter, Halimat Oluwadamilola Boluwatife Lawal, who is suspected to have fallen victim to human trafficking since January 2022.

The family also alleged that they were deceived and financially exploited by individuals who claimed to have information about Halimat’s whereabouts, only to later recant their claims.

Speaking to reporters, Halimat’s distraught mother recounted how her daughter disappeared after informing her of plans to travel, despite her objections.

“I don’t know any of her friends and I don’t know any guy with her,” the mother said.

“The day she told me she wanted to go, she said she was going to Libya and I told her not to go because I don’t know what they are doing over there. Later, she told me she wanted to go to my house at Ifo and I was expecting her to be back but I didn’t see her.

“She called me after three days that she was in Kano and I asked, ‘Kano? How? After I warned you not to go?’ Then she hung up. Since then, I have been spending money searching for her.

“I have spent nothing less than N150,000 going from one place to another in search of my daughter but haven’t found her. Then someone advised me to post her on social media, maybe we will find her. Please help me to find my daughter; I don’t have anybody.”

Halimat’s sister also narrated a chilling sequence of events following the young woman’s disappearance, suggesting possible trafficking routes through Kano State into Libya.

“She left home in January 2022. She didn’t tell anyone before she left, not until she got to Kano and called our mum that they might not hear from her again because the people taking her to Libya told her there was no network where they were going,” the sister said.

“My mum was shouting at her, asking her where she went, and immediately she hung up the call. Later, someone used her phone to call back and told our mum that the vehicle her child boarded had an accident and all of them died, including her child.

“At another time, someone called again and said they had collected the phone from my sister, and that nothing happened to her. The person said my sister and others had been taken to somewhere. Since four years ago, we have been praying and spending money, looking for her but we couldn’t find or hear anything from her.”

Family Exploited by Agent Claiming to Have Information

The family said a breakthrough seemed possible in March 2026 after they circulated Halimat’s photos online, attracting the attention of a man.

“Last month (March), we decided to post her pictures online and asked people to reshare and repost them,” the sister explained.

“After doing that, one man from a WhatsApp group one of my sisters belongs to reached out to us and sent the number of an agent to us. The agent’s name is Mr. Damola. We don’t know the man or the agent at all.

“Afterwards, we started talking with the agent and he told us that they had one of their workers in Libya who could help us find my sister. He said that my sister was in Tripoli and not in a good condition. He told us that one of their workers in Libya who is a woman said she went to where my sister was and took food and clothes to her because she was not in a good condition.”

However, what followed, according to the family, was a series of financial demands. The agent first asked for N60,000, then an additional N10,000 for transport fare, totaling N70,000. The family sent the money.

The agent later claimed that the Libyan government required a further N50,000, adding that an NGO he worked with would contribute N25,000. The family again agreed to pay. Subsequently, the agent demanded letters from a lawyer, a Level 11 civil servant, and a pastor.

The sister lamented how they struggled to meet the additional demands, even resorting to paying N15,000 for the letters through a third party.

Agent Denies Involvement After Civil Society Intervention

The alleged scheme reportedly unraveled after the intervention of Mr. Damilola Adeola from a civil society organisation, Hopes Haven Foundation.

“After Mr. Damilola contacted the agent, he turned around and said he did not know anything about my sister, that he was just collecting money from us. He started begging, that he would return the money to us. He said he would be paying us N20,000 per week,” the sister said.

When contacted for comment, the agent, who identified himself only as Mr. Damola, denied his name and any knowledge of the matter.

“First of all, my name is not Damola. Secondly, I know nothing about the whole matter,” he said, also denying any financial exploitation of the family.

However, Halimat’s sister insisted the agent was lying. “That is his phone number which I have been using to chat with him. This is the same number Mr. Damilola collected from us and chatted with him. He is lying. He still chatted with me on March 27 and told me he was going to pay me the money he had the following day.”

She said the agent has not refunded any money, rather he keeps promising to send it but has not.

The family is now calling on Nigerian authorities and the public for urgent help, fearing that Halimat may still be alive but trapped in dire conditions in Libya, a country long associated with human trafficking routes affecting vulnerable Nigerians seeking migration opportunities.