Nigerian Woman Escapes Forced Labour Ordeal in Kyrgyzstan, Others Still Trapped

After months of hardship and human rights violations in Kyrgyzstan, a Nigerian woman, Mrs. Olaitan Sekinat Tiamiyu, has finally returned home.

The Ogun State indigene arrived in Nigeria on July 3, 2025, bringing to light the grim realities faced by Nigerian migrants in Central Asia.

Mrs. Tiamiyu was one of three Nigerians stranded in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where they were subjected to visa complications, forced labour, and harassment from local authorities.

Her return follows a long ordeal that began with a deceptive job offer from a travel agent who collected over ₦4 million for a teaching position that never existed.

“What I met upon getting to Kyrgyzstan was totally different from what my agent promised. There was no teaching job. Instead, we were abandoned and left to fend for ourselves under harsh conditions”.

Instead of a classroom, she was told she had come to join a football club a claim she strongly denies. Left to survive, she and other stranded Nigerians were coerced into manual labour and subjected to constant police harassment. Her passport was confiscated, and she was denied an exit visa due to a red alert placed on her travel agent.

With no legal means to work and rising accommodation costs of about ₦12,600 daily, she was forced to work on farms for a meagre 1,000 Kyrgyz som per day worsening her health and mental state.

Another Nigerian, who requested anonymity for safety reasons, remains stranded after sustaining serious injuries in March. He has made urgent pleas for medical evacuation to Nigeria, saying his condition is deteriorating rapidly.

Although Kyrgyz authorities claimed to be reviewing the Nigerians’ cases, Mrs. Tiamiyu’s release was only made possible after she raised funds mostly borrowed to purchase a return ticket. She eventually secured an exit visa and reclaimed her passport just days before departure.

“To leave requires paying for visa overstay, police charges, and other fees. My application was denied online. When I was summoned in person, the police took our passports and said our documents might be fake. No one was arrested, but we were detained and interrogated,” she explained.

Mrs. Tiamiyu now calls on the Nigerian government to urgently intervene and rescue others still trapped in Kyrgyzstan like Obi John Ikechukwu from Enugu State and Aisha Morenikeji from Oyo State who remain in limbo, facing daily threats to their health and safety.

In response to the growing number of similar cases, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has issued a strong warning to citizens, urging them to avoid travelling to high-risk countries especially those without Nigerian diplomatic representation or undergoing conflict.

NiDCOM spokesperson Abdur-Rahman Balogun emphasized the dangers:

“Nigerians should stop travelling to countries where Nigeria doesn’t have an embassy, is not recognised by the UN, or is in a state of war such as Russia, Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Syria, Libya, and many more.”

The heartbreaking experiences of Mrs. Tiamiyu and other Nigerians in Kyrgyzstan highlight the urgent need for stricter regulation of travel agencies and better government protections for citizens abroad.