Fracesca De Masi is the President of Be Free Cooperative Against Trafficking Violence and Discrimination, an association of  women  taking care of women-victim of trafficking and violence. The  organization was established in Roma in 2007.

According to her, Be Free is part of the national anti-trafficking system.  “In Italy , we have a system which can accept women or men victim of exploitation- sexual exploitation and labor exploitation too,”she said, adding that there are in Italy, 1,500 places for victim of trafficking. 1,500 shelters founded by the government.

“We manage shelter with 6 places available for women who are escaping from sexual exploitation.”

In the course of doing her work, Fracesca has met and supported many Nigerian girls fleeing from violations occasioned by being used for sexual exploitation. Her love and support for Nigerian girls saw her visiting the country and even uses words  spoken by the different tribes in her conversation. “In my journey in Nigeria, I stayed 40 days, more than one month.  I spent 20 days in Lagos with these religious sisters and 20 days in Benin City. It was around the time the Oba of Benin placed a curse on human traffickers.

“And it was very beautiful, because the Nigerian girls in Italy that  I supported, they knew that I was in Nigeria that period.  And they sent me some message telling me, but is it true Oba spoke about us.  And it was very beautiful, because for the first time, the victims had someone speaking about them.

What the Oba did was okay but not enough to stop the traffickers. Human traffickers are criminals. They break human laws, and break even God’s laws too.

She noted that many trafficked girls that  her organisation came across and supported suffered from mental health problems and other health challenges.

“They have symptoms of  depression as part of the consequences of exploitation they have experienced. They have difficulty sleeping and also suffer from even  physical problems. Some come up with HIV. In our shelter, we are, we support them in every kind of procedure. We  accompany them to the hospital, and make them have some healthcare checks.”

 Fracesca decried Nigerian girls’ attitude to seeing psychologist for examination.

 “Nigerian girls think that if they go to the psychologist,  it means that they are crazy.  But it’s not so. So please, please, if you can write this, let them know that going to a psychologist is not aboutbeing  crazy. Going to the psychologist means that you take care about your mental wellness, that it’s very hard to buy.  With all the violence these girls passed through during their journey, the exploitation, the rape,   they psychologist support.  it just helps them to be okay and  happy in life.I know that there are just 200 psychiatrists in all over Nigeria of  200 million people.  I know a lot of things.”

In spite of their reluctance to go for psychological checks, Francesca described  Nigerian girls as fighters and strong willed people “because they are heroic in even finding some way to escape from their madam.

“I have a lot of stories of life about the girls I met in these years.  They are able to escape from their madam. And if they have some support, like our support, they can reach their freedom.

 “But on the other side, this rebellion is very hard, because obviously they have a lot of fear and I agree with them.The fear is about the family in Nigeria, because the traffickers know where the families are.  And so they have fears that the traffickers, if they escape from prostitution, the traffickers can assault the family.”

She noted that the number of Nigerians being trafficked to Italy through irregular pathways has drastically reduced in recent time. “The trafficking changed a little bit in this area because until 2021, we had most of girls coming from Nigeria. Now the data is  a little bit different.  There are even other nationalities like Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali etc .

“On the contrary, in the past, even in the national system, almost 80% of the people identified by the anti-trafficking system were Nigerians. So we have a lot of experience with Nigerian girls.  For example, in 2016, in those years, Nigeria was one of the first people arriving by boat.  Today, the data is different because we were thinking and asking, where are the Nigerian girls now? Because they don’t arrive anymore by boat to Italy.I think that they remain blocked, for example, in Libya or in other places.”

Fracesca added that Nigerian girls now are less than the pastors in Italy but “they remain very vulnerable following  their situation.  Because even if they are able to escape from the exploitation, they don’t find a very good environment. Italy, especially with the new government, is not welcoming the migrants. It’s a little bit difficult to build with the migrant people a stable project of life.  They remain in precarious situation. So, for them, it’s very difficult to have a good life.  We try our best, okay, because in Italy there are law protecting people escaping from exploitation and trafficking.

“And this law can help them, first of all, to get a residence permit because they are victim of a big crime. Trafficking in my opinion, is the most serious  violation of human rights in the world, because in trafficking, there are different types of  violence. There is rape inside trafficking, there is  prostitution, there is even, for example, sometimes domestic slavery. In my opinion, one of the most dreadful crimes is trafficking.  I cannot tell you, in a sense, the volume of money around this phenomenon, because we have just the world data and not the Italian data.It’s very hard to, first of all, understand how many people are involved in trafficking as victim and how much money the traffickers earn.  

“The data of the national anti-trafficking system is lesser than the reality.  This data is just the people whom we are able to identify as victims. For example, in 2025, the national anti-trafficking system identified 3,000 people as victims of trafficking. Just in 2025.  But we think that there are more and more, because it’s very difficult to find them, especially after COVID. Before COVID, there were a lot of girls on the road and they were more visible. But after COVID, the exploitation moved in closed places something like connection houses.And this kind of places is very hard to identify.”

Jeremiah Adelu is a young, vibrant, and success-driven Nigerian who did not allow his past to define him.  

After a failed attempt at travelling to Europe through Libya, Jerry returned home and against all odds, founded Voice of Migrant Association (VOMA) a non- governmental Organisation supporting returnees. With VOMA, Jerry uses his love for art to remould shattered hearts ,restore confidence  and redefine the lives of many returnees, some of who are battling depression and other challenges.  

Excerpts:

Tell us about yourself

 I am a returned migrant, a social advocate, and the Director of the Voice of Migrant Association (VOMA). I currently work to raise awareness about the dangers of irregular migration, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling while promoting safe and legal migration pathways. Through my work, I also mentor returnees and vulnerable youth, helping them rebuild their lives through advocacy, skills development, and creative expression.

 How did you get recruited to travel?

My journey started through information and promises from people who portrayed migration as an easy and guaranteed path to success. Like many others, I was influenced by stories of people who supposedly made it abroad. Recruiters and middlemen often present migration as simple and safe, but they rarely talk about the risks involved.

What was your migration journey like?

My migration journey is one that changed my life forever.

Like many young Africans searching for better opportunities, I once believed that traveling abroad was the fastest way to success,I saw friends and acquaintances posting pictures of beautiful lives in Europe on social media. From the outside, it looked like once you arrived there, life automatically would become better. Those images and stories strengthened my desire to travel to Germany in search of a better future

At that time, I was working hard and trying to build a better life for myself, but like many young people, I believed that going abroad would open greater opportunities. A friend eventually introduced me to people who claimed they could help me travel to Europe through the land route. They told me the journey would cost about ₦300,000, which sounded affordable compared to the promises of a new life abroad. Determined to change my life, I struggled and managed to raise the money.

The journey soon began. I traveled from Nigeria through the northern part of the country into Niger, heading toward Libya, which is a major transit point for migrants trying to reach Europe through the Mediterranean Sea. However, what started as a hopeful journey quickly turned into a nightmare.

Like many migrants who attempt irregular migration, the reality of the journey was far from what I imagined. At every stage of the trip, new agents appeared demanding additional money before allowing us to continue. The cost kept increasing far beyond what I had originally been told. By the time I finally reached Libya, I had spent about ₦1.15 million, far more than the initial agreement.

One of the most frightening parts of the journey was crossing the Sahara Desert. We were packed into pickup trucks and driven across a vast desert with very little food and water. During the day, the heat was unbearable, and at night the cold was extreme. Along the way, I saw something I will never forget dead bodies of migrants scattered across the desert. Some had died from dehydration, others from exhaustion. The desert had become the final resting place for many people who once had dreams just like mine.

When I finally arrived in Libya, the situation became even worse. Migrants were taken to detention camps and places controlled by traffickers and militias. One of the places we were held was known as the “Land of No Mercy. The conditions there were terrible. Many of us were crowded into small spaces with little food, poor sanitation, and constant fear.

People were beaten regularly, especially if they could not pay more money. Traffickers would force migrants to call their families back home while they were being beaten so their relatives could hear their cries and send money quickly. I personally experienced this. I had to call my sister while I was being beaten so that she would send money to secure my release.

Women in the camps suffered even more, as many of them were forced into prostitution. At that point, I realized that the journey I thought would bring a better life had instead become a fight just to stay alive. I experienced hardship, uncertainty, and the harsh realities many migrants face during irregular migration. These experiences exposed me to the risks of trafficking, exploitation, and extremely difficult living conditions.

Later, while preparing to cross the Mediterranean Sea, I witnessed another heartbreaking tragedy. A boat carrying migrants capsized, and more than 100 people lost their lives in the sea. Seeing that moment shook me deeply. I began to think seriously about the possibility of dying in the desert or in the sea, far away from home where my family might never even know what happened to me.

That experience completely changed my mindset. I realized that no dream was worth losing my life.

Eventually, I was able to return to Nigeria through an assisted voluntary return program supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Returning home was not easy, but it gave me another chance to start again.

When I came back, I carried not only my personal story but also a strong desire to ensure that others would not fall into the same trap. I restarted my laundry business and began to reflect deeply on everything I had experienced during the journey.

Instead of keeping my experience to myself, I decided to use my story as a tool for awareness and change. That decision led me to establish the Voice of Migrant Association (VOMA), an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of irregular migration, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling.

Today, through VOMA, I speak to young people, mentor returnee migrants, and advocate for safe and legal migration pathways. My goal is to ensure that others do not have to go through the same suffering many migrants experience during irregular migration.

My story is not just about pain; it is about transformation. From someone who once chased the dream of Europe through dangerous routes, I have become a voice advocating for safer choices and better opportunities for others.

My message is simple: migration is not wrong, but it must be done safely and legally.

 What was your experience returning home?

Returning home was both emotional and challenging. Many returnees struggle with stigma, disappointment, and the pressure to rebuild their lives. However, my return also became a turning point. Instead of seeing it as a failure, I decided to transform my experience into a platform to educate others and support fellow returnees.

 Tell us about your organization

Voice of Migrant Association (VOMA) is a community-based organization led by returned migrants. The organization focuses on raising awareness about irregular migration, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling while advocating for safe migration pathways. VOMA also works on reintegration support by empowering returnees through mentorship, livelihood opportunities, and psychosocial support.

Why did you establish it?

I established VOMA because I realized that many migrants return home without support, guidance, or opportunities to rebuild their lives. I wanted to create a platform where returnees could share their experiences, heal, and become advocates who educate others about the realities of irregular migration.

How well have you touched the lives of the people you are mentoring?

Through VOMA, we have been able to mentor and support many young people and returnees by providing awareness sessions, community engagements, and empowerment programs. Many of the individuals we mentor have gained confidence, learned skills, and now participate in advocacy activities themselves. Some have even become peer educators who help spread awareness in their communities.

 What are the challenges you face doing your work?

One of the major challenges is limited funding and resources to expand our programs. There is also the challenge of stigma faced by returnees, which sometimes makes reintegration difficult. Additionally, reaching vulnerable youth who are strongly influenced by migration myths can be challenging, but continuous awareness helps address this.

Tell us about your deployment of art to support returnees

At VOMA, we use art as a powerful tool for storytelling, healing, and advocacy. This includes spoken word, music, visual art, podcasts, and creative performances that allow returnees to express their experiences. Art helps transform painful migration experiences into powerful messages that educate others.

 What do you observe when returnees you are helping engage in art?

When returnees engage in art, we notice a significant change in their confidence and emotional well-being. Art provides them with a safe space to express their stories and emotions. It also helps them reconnect with their creativity and build a positive identity beyond their migration experiences.

How did you come about the use of art to support returnees?

The idea came from observing that many returnees struggle to talk openly about their experiences. Art became a natural and effective way for them to communicate their stories without feeling judged. It also allows their voices to reach wider audiences in a powerful and engaging way.

 What do you need to enhance the work you do for returnees especially in the area of art?

To strengthen this initiative, we need more support in terms of training, creative equipment, funding, and partnerships with artists and organizations. Establishing a creative hub where returnees can learn and practice different forms of art would greatly improve the impact of this program.

 

Any plan to spread your work to other parts of the country?

Yes, we have plans to expand our work to other parts of Nigeria. Migration challenges affect many communities, and we believe our model of peer-led advocacy and creative engagement can be replicated in other states. We hope to build partnerships that will help scale our impact nationally.

What is your take on migration awareness?

Migration awareness is not just about discouraging travel; it is about providing accurate information and promoting safe opportunities. Our goal at VOMA is to empower people with knowledge so they can make informed decisions about migration while also supporting returnees to rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose.

For support and collaboration, you can reach Jerry via:

Instagram: #thisisvoma

Phone :+ 234 9010976301

Email: voiceofmigrantassociation@gmail.com

Twitter: voiceofmigrant

Facebook: voice of migrant association 

TikTok: voiceofmigrantassociation

Linkedln: voiceofmigrant

 Edo State Migration Agency (EDMA) Director General (EDMA)Honorable Chief Lucky  Agazuma, tells how the state governor, Monday Okpebholo’s initiatives helped to drastically reduce the menace of human trafficking and irregular migration in the state. Excerpts:

What is the state of irregular migration and human trafficking in Edo State now?

Of course, it’s declining geometrically because of the several approaches the state government is bringing in. I’m the pioneer director general of the migration agency and Edo State  government is the first to have this migration agency in Nigeria. We are still the only state having it. When we started, the governor of the Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, brought his strategies for us to run the agency and we followed up.

What follows? People started giving us awards as the rate at which the irregular migration was going on before started going down just like the law of diminishing return. It has reduced drastically.

What was the situation before you came on board?

It was endemic, not just in the area of international trafficking, but also within the metropolis. People coming in from other states to commit all atrocities of human trafficking. But when we emerged, the first thing we did was to carry out  strategic feasibility studies. We carried out raids on the streets and discovered that in every 200 girls standing on the street, for example, who were trafficked to Edo, one percent, or less than, was from Edo State.

So, we were able to find out that other states were actually using here as a hub to actualize their aim.People were trafficking people. Most of them said that they never knew it was a crime. When we came in, we invested massively in advocacy. Then we created several models. One of the models we used in addressing irregular migration was the SQ model where, if you see a crime relating to human trafficking, see it, say it and it is  sorted. Of course, that has been helping so well.

When you say you invested in advocacy, could you just explain a little bit?

 Yes, with the aid of AI, we use this AI to teach people that it is dangerous to be trafficked in irregular way. Then during the yuletide,Christmas period, we equally let them know that some diasporans are the traffickers. They come to town to spend the money they gathered in one year in one week.

In other words, they will be spending the money they don’t have to buy what they don’t want and to impress those they don’t like. So, we did an enlightenment program. We created migration clubs around the schools and worked with the NGOs. Then we made an advocacy to the brotheliers, who specialize in bringing in underage girls- 13 years  to 14 years  from other states to end up in the brothels.

As a matter of fact, most of these persons  are in prison. A  native doctor that was giving them oath to swear is cooling off in prison. The same with a pastor’s wife. These are part of what we have done to fight irregular migration. And of course, the method we are using is working for us. I can buttress that with the fact that before now, Edo state had always taken the lead in irregular migration. Now, we have dropped from that list. Kano and the rest have taken over.

Tell us about the clubs your agency established in schools. What brought about the idea, and what have you been able to achieve through that?

We know that the focus of many traffickers is  secondary school students. We started by carrying out a catch them young program, where the children have to know from the beginning that it is wrong to be trafficked. That if they speak to them about the irregular migration and  human trafficking, they should learn to speak out.

We have had several issues where minors, including a 12-year-old girl who was a sickler, and the sister were trafficked to Libya.  On the way to Libya, the migration agency was able to run to Zaria and intercepted  them in  Kaduna and subsequently returned them to Edo.  So, that helps through the clubs we set up in school because we reach out to students. If they see that their colleagues are not in school and nowhere to be found, they should reach out to us as part of the rules and regulations of the club.

With that, we  are now able to know what is going on. Then also through the advocacy, we equally made an advocacy from here to all the African countries. For migrants who are stranded in the Mediterranean Sea and other sub-Saharan regions, what we did was to set up a whatsapp group group. We have coordinators around the African countries.  

When they see a case like this, they report to us. For example, there was a case of one boy from Edo north who was trafficked from here to an African country. He died along the line because he was trying to use the trunk of a car to cross. He got hit and he died inside the truck. Instead of his friends coming back home and inform the family, they started lying that the guy was in prison. They were  using that as a method to siphon the families until we brought that  to the attention of the family.  They told us  they were still gathering money to  send  to these friends to release him from the prison.We were able to do it because of the advocacy we have  been  carrying out.

Tell us about how you have been bringing people back from different parts of Africa  and other parts of the world.

 When it comes to bringing people back, that has been the governor’s mandate.During the electioneering  campaign, I campaigned with the governor. What he promised he would do is what he’s doing now today as part of his practical governance. Whenever he hears that Edo people are  stranded, he will send  us to go and rescue them.

We have a good relationship with almost all the Nigerian embassies in these African countries. So when they have issues that require emergency attention, they reach out to us and immediately, the governor mobilizes us for a rescue mission.

We’ve gone to so many and we still intend to go for more this year.

What is the  fate of those who have been assisted to return?  Have you been giving them any form of empowerment?

So many.  That falls under our RQ method. We readmit them back  when their family rejects them.We rehabilitate them when their family is irritated. Then we reintegrate them when their family’s are ungrateful for their return.

We have a school for those who want to go back to school.  The catering, tailoring, barbing centres among others are there. Any category that you want to do, we help you.  We train you after that, we set you up.

Many government organizations always have financial challenges to do their work. Do you face a similar challenge?

You were in the meeting a while ago  where some persons  from other states were complaining.  To be honest, the government of Edo State is trying.

If you look at it by next week, Lagos and Kano state governments will be coming to Edo to learn from us.  If we were lacking funds, I don’t believe we would be able to take the lead in migration in Nigeria and When it comes to the area of irregular migration.  Kano  is now taking the lead. If there was no money,  there’s no way we would have been able to execute all we have done. Of course, the government of Edo State is giving us access to funding to enable us to carry out strategy work because the main problem of Edo before now had always been the issue of irregular migration and human trafficking. it’s dropping drastically now  because the government of Edo State is investing massively in the migration sector, providing all the necessary apparatus to enable us to carry out our work strategically.

There are some hot spots in Edo State, in Benin in particular. Do you raid those areas?

Of course, we know the hot spots.For example, like the Ihama in Benin, that is the headquarters. We have a Agip, sub headquarters. We have Uromi in Esanland among others. I don’t think I  need to talk much about that. You just go and ask them because we believe in practical governance.  We don’t fight irregular migration on power points. We fight it in the fields.We raid those spots and  rescue the victims.

Combating irregular migration is not an easy thing as human traffickers are hard to deal with. What  challenges do you get from them?

Traffickers right now are using technologies.

For example, there is one platform (QNET)  they used in  trafficking 24 persons to Edo State  from other countries.  Under the S-Cube model that we developed in the state,that when they hear a crime relating to human trafficking, they should say it, some  good persons reached out to us and we were able to  rescue them. I think we are doing so well in Edo State when it comes to managing migration and migration governance.

You have so many transport companies that also aid irregular migration. What do you do about them?

When Governor Okpebholo  appointed me as the director general of the migration agency, my team and I embarked on a trip to Ghana  to understudy their migration trend. We went straight to the office of the Inspector General of Police  in Ghana. We discussed extensively  and he told us a few areas we can improve on. We  first of all asked them how are these persons coming here, and they told us through transport. So, for the transport sector in Edo State, we are placing strategic surveillance in all the transport companies running in the regional countries. The Ghanaian authorities  equally told us most persons specialize in boycotting the checkpoints on the route to Ghana by going to Yaba using their boat or ship. So we were able to weigh in in that area and carried out advocacy to transport companies in edo warning that if they are involved in such, in line with our law, we have the power to confiscate their property, sell the properties, pay the proceeds into our trust fund and  use the proceeds to rehabilitate and reintegrate the trafficked  victims. And of course, they have been working with us closely.

Have you made any arrests since you came on board? And if you have made any arrests, what is the prosecution like?

So many are chilling in the prison. For example, I started with a native doctor who specialized in body part  harvesting- I mean the exoskeleton; the hoof, nails,  pubic hair etc. When they traffic children,  or maybe they want to use children for sextortion,  he specialized in making it making them  take  oath not to speak up.  So when we had one that finally spoke up to us,  we quickly leveraged that to arrest the native doctor. As I speak to you now, he’s chilling in Oko prison.

We equally had a case of a pastor’s wife, whose member went to complain that the  husband wasn’t doing so well.  Instead of the pastor’s wife to advise the woman or find a way to support, the pastor’s wife  supported in trafficking the member’s wife to Libya

As I speak to you, that pastor’s wife is also chilling in  Oko Prison. There is a case of one who trafficked a 14-year-old girl  from Edo State to Burkina Faso.

We rescued that person back,  and the trafficker is chilling in the prison now.

 I had over 35 cases last year and most of them are in prison and the rest are still under investigation. A few are on the run but they can only run, they cannot hide forever.

What’s your message to human traffickers  who have failed  to yield to your warnings and still flouting the rules?

 My message to those persons in Edo  who are taking us for granted  is that we have a very strong law and that law permits us to sell your house.

When you lose your house, you know what that  means. So, if you are trafficking anybody out of Edo State, we have the power to confiscate your property, send you out of your house,  seal the house,  sell the house,  pay the proceeds into our trust fund, use the proceeds to rehabilitate and reintegrate  the returning  migrants back to the society. And also know that,  myself speaking, I’m a Nigerian in diaspora.

 The  diasporans and those living in neighbouring countries, can come in here through the traffickers  to spend the money they gathered in one year in two weeks. In other words, they will be spending the money they don’t have to buy what they don’t want and to impress those they don’t like.  Only for them to go back to their country and start afresh.

 So, we must learn to be very careful to avoid being trafficked. The brotheliers also need to learn that we  have the right to seal  their brothels and sell them  if they are involved with minors  in their brothels.  They should also know that trafficking minors, when it gets to the court of law,  it would now be a case between you and the government.