Nigerian Job Centre staffer sued for domestic servitude after bringing over teenager to work for her

NIGERIAN-born Job Centre staffer Afolake Adeniji has been taken to court in London for tricking a teenager to work as her slave for 10 years after luring her to the UK with the promise of free education.

Ms Adeniji, 50,  had promised the victim free education in UK then made her work in servitude for more than 10 years, a UK court was told. Apparently, she tricked the now 27-year-old woman into flying to London from her home in Nigeria in 2003, when she was just 13.

Upon getting to Britain, the victim he was allegedly subjected to a campaign of exploitation that left her with post-traumatic stress disorder. Promised a better life, she had agreed to come and live with Ms Adeniji and her family first in Beckton, east London and then in Chelmsford in Essex.

However,  the teenager was forced to wake up at 5.30am each morning to take care of Ms Adeniji’s children and spend the rest of her day completing menial household chores. Jurors were told by the victim that she could only eat her dinner once she had fed Ms Adeniji and her family.

Prosecutor Irshad Sheikh said: “She was completely submissive to the defendant and her family and any confidence she had was lost and ebbed away. Effectively that was what she was living, the life of domestic servitude.

“It soon became apparent that the woman had become miserable, had become extremely depressed and was having negative thoughts and suicidal ideas. What I suggest is that the teenager was brought here to this country to help you and do the chores that she has mentioned.”

Ms Adeniji denies arranging or facilitating the travel of a person to the UK for exploitation and inflicting grievous bodily harm and post-traumatic stress disorder upon the teenager. She told Southwark Crown Court that the alleged victim was making up all these stories.

According to Ms Adeniji, she got to know the alleged victim through her older brother, who worked at the home of her lawyer father and her mother, who was employed in local government. She said the teenager came to live as part of her family after her arrival from Nigeria.

In addition, she said the teenager had her own bedroom and woke up whenever she wanted to. Ms Adeniji added that all household chores were completed on Saturdays with all family members chipping in to help.