The long and painful search for Adeola, daughter of Nigerian actress Jumoke George, has come to a hopeful turning point following her return from Mali, where she had been trafficked.
Her story, marked by silence, uncertainty and desperation, now highlights a grim reminder of the reality of trafficking faced by many young Nigerians in pursuit of better opportunities abroad.
George, a mother of two, has spent the last four years tirelessly searching for her first child.
“My first child, Adeola, has been missing. I’ve been looking for her for the past four years. Any small amount of money I made from working was spent on searching for her,” she shared on the ‘Talk to B’ podcast hosted by actress Biola Adebayo.
Observers Times gathered that Adeola had been living with her grandmother in Ibadan before she disappeared. She had reportedly informed her grandmother that she was travelling to Lagos to visit her mother but never arrived.
The silence that followed marked the beginning of a years-long nightmare for George, who later received a cryptic phone call from her daughter. “She said I should forgive her. When I asked where she was, she only said I should forgive her, saying she didn’t know where her journey would lead,” George recounted.
According to her, Adeola was lured into the journey by friends who promised her greener pastures abroad.
The Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, confirmed Adeola’s return in a statement via her X page on Monday.
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She revealed that the young woman had been trafficked to Mali and was recently rescued by the Nigerian authorities following George’s emotional appeal and mounting public attention.
“Adeola, daughter of popular actress, Jumoke George, who cried out that she had not heard from her daughter in four years, is back home, from Mali, where she was trafficked to. Just received her, with Biola Adebayo who broke the story and Niyi Johnson,” Dabiri-Erewa wrote.
As of the time of this report, there has been no public confirmation of a reunion between Adeola and her mother, nor has Adeola granted any interviews. Ms Dabiri-Erewa noted that more details would be made available as the situation unfolded.
Human trafficking remains a persistent and complex challenge in Nigeria, particularly for young women and girls lured by promises of better livelihoods abroad. These deceptive opportunities often lead to entrapment in forced labour, servitude or sexual exploitation.
According to Nigeria’s National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), over 20,000 Nigerian women and girls were found in Mali alone, where they had been trafficked and sold into sex slavery. The victims were deceived with promises of legitimate employment but ended up trapped in exploitative conditions. Mali and Libya rank among the top destinations where such trafficking victims have been located.
Al Jazeera reported that NAPTIP’s 2019 investigation uncovered between 20,000 and 45,000 trafficked Nigerian girls in southern Mali, underscoring the scale of the crisis.
Adeola’s experience reflects the vulnerability that drives many young Nigerians to risk their safety. George disclosed that her daughter had been working in Ibadan before her disappearance and was raising her children as a single mother.
“She was in Ibadan, where she lived and worked with my mother. Then, one day, my mother called to say she hadn’t seen Deola… I told her I hadn’t seen her either,” she said.
Adding to the complexity of the situation, George revealed she has also been solely responsible for caring for Adeola’s children. “I’ve not seen their father since we separated when they were much younger,” she said.
Observers Times gathered that Adeola was eventually located in Mali, where she was found working in conditions yet to be fully disclosed. Her return marks a critical point not only in her family’s journey towards healing but also in raising awareness about the growing trend of human trafficking through deceptive migration promises.
Although George has yet to reunite publicly with her daughter, her relentless pursuit and public advocacy have cast a renewed spotlight on the hidden dangers faced by Nigerian women abroad. Authorities, civil society organisations and the public are now watching closely as further details about Adeola’s ordeal emerge.
