Before December, Femi Ayoola lived a relatively good life with his wife and children. He owned a car and worked as a medical laboratory scientist. He wasn’t exceptionally rich, but he was comfortable.

Ayoola told FIJ that he was content but wanted more and this led him to believe Rasheed Adeniyi, a friend he had met on WhatsApp, when he said he knew about a high-paying job in France. At that point, he had been communicating with Adeniyi for four years.

Ayoola explained that Adeniyi told him the job was in Europe, but he would first have to train at Clinique de la Madeleine, a hospital in Senegal, before relocating to France.

“He told me they needed medical officers at the clinic, and since I worked as a medical laboratory scientist, I was a perfect fit. When he mentioned the name of the clinic, I looked it up and found it existed, but what I didn’t know was that it was a front,” Ayoola told FIJ.

“Because I’d seen it online, I told him I was interested. Little did I know that they were using the hospital’s name to perpetrate their illegal acts. He then said I must pay N1.5 million to secure the slot.

“I told Adeniyi I couldn’t afford it, but he said I should try to raise the money because he had arranged everything for me and that I had nothing to worry about. This made me happy, and I began to sell everything I owned.

“I sold all my belongings: my furniture, electronics, and even a Nissan Ultima car with an air conditioner. My wife and I agreed on these sales. Because my salary was low, I had to borrow money from others to raise the required amount.

“In the end, I could only raise between N1.3 million and N1.4 million. I told him, and he said he would give me directions on how to get to Senegal.”

READ ALSO: From Nigeria to Burkina Faso: Undercover as a Trafficked Person

A TRIP DOWN THE HILL

The former medical laboratory scientist told FIJ that this marked the beginning of an experience he has yet to recover from. He admitted to noticing the small red flags during his interactions with Adeniyi and others he met on his trip to Burkina Faso, where they ended up trafficking him, but he dismissed them thinking he was being too judgmental.

Ayoola paused and recalled how Adeniyi pressured him to resign from his job in Nigeria. “He advised and encouraged me to quit, saying that the future in Senegal would be better,” Ayoola recalled.

“I believed him. I didn’t even resign formally; I just stopped going to work on December 4 because he had assured me I was making the best decision of my life. My wife also spoke to him, and he assured both of us.”

Believing in what seemed like a bright future in Senegal and then France, Ayoola said he followed Adeniyi’s directions which led him to Badagry to catch a bus to Benin Republic. Adeniyi didn’t leave him stranded; he provided contact details of two syndicate members.

“He told me these people would guide my journey,” Ayoola said. “Thinking about it now, it seemed normal back then, but they were all members of a syndicate.”

Armed with the hope of a new future, he followed the instructions given to him, which led him to Badagry, a border town, where he boarded a bus heading to Benin Republic, one of Nigeria’s West African neighbours.

Once Ayoola crossed into Benin Republic, he met Kombo, an ex-military official (who is now serving a jail term in Burkina Faso). He said the ex-military man made him empty the millions of naira in his account into Kombo’s account and then further directed him on how to get to Burkina Faso.

Kombo took the money on the pretext that it would secure a resident permit, work permit, medical certificates and other documentation needed to live in Senegal.

“When I got into Benin Republic, I met Issah, a tall, dark, and huge Beninoise man who spoke fluent Yoruba and French. They’d told him about me even before I arrived,” Ayoola told FIJ.

“He was the first to ask me to change my money from naira to CFA. He took my debit card and transferred all my funds into Kombo’s account.

“He put me on a bus and said I was going to Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. While I was still in transit, I received a text message from Adeniyi saying I would stop in Burkina Faso and he would come to meet me there. He said we would head to Senegal together from there. I had mixed feelings but kept quiet.”

FROM DREAMS TO DUST

Ayoola told FIJ that when he arrived in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, Adeniyi again reminded him that they would meet up and travel to Senegal together.

He said that when he questioned his presence in Burkina Faso, Adeniyi claimed it was for a business trip. “He told me his company was handling a job in the country and he wanted to use the opportunity to see me. This sounded vague and made me uncomfortable, but I kept my suspicions to myself.”

His suspicions were confirmed when Adeniyi came to pick him up.

“Adeniyi arrived with another guy, and they took me to an empty house,” Ayoola told FIJ.

“The house had no furniture or furnishings. When I asked what we were doing there, he said it was just for the night and we would head to Senegal the next day. Right then, it dawned on me that I had been lured.”

He said the building was on a street called Vente, near a pharmacy named Pharmacie Abby. “All the while, I had no idea it was a building for keeping hostages.”

He said over the next few days, they made it clear to him that Burkina Fas was his destination. They also took his SIM cards to prevent him from calling his family back home in Nigeria to narrate their deception.

READ ALSO: How Security Guard Lost His Car, Wife After He Was Lured to Benin Republic by QNET Scammers

ESCAPED BUT BROKEN

Ayoola said he was in Burkina Faso for four months between December 11 when he arrived there and April when he finally escaped.

He described the inhumane treatment the trafficker subjected him and other victims to: “They controlled everything we did. They monitored our calls and movements. They fed us rice every day and what they called food was nine to ten people surrounding a bucket of rice and trying to eat as fast as they could.”

He added that every day, for the four months, he was coached and trained alongside other victims on how to lie to potential victims.

For his escape, he said when he first approached the Burkinabe Police, they admitted that they had received lots of complaints about QNET scammers and there was little they could do.

“The Burkinabe Police referred us to the Ministry of Justice in the country and from there we told our stories. But before they would let us go, they called the people who held us hostage and made them offer us N200,000 as a refund but I rejected it. Eventually, I was able to reach my family and get them to raise money for me,” Ayoola narrated.

“I can’t return home because of the people I borrowed money from. I am ashamed and can’t face them. My health is also not stable and I am yet to recover from the trauma even though I returned months ago. I can’t even bring myself to take pictures.”

SCAMMERS’ REACT

FIJ sent WhatsApp messages to every person Ayoola mentioned was involved in luring him from Nigeria to Burkina Faso for their reactions on the matter.

Adeniyi partly confirmed the accuracy of Ayoola’s story to FIJ on Tuesday. He admitted to luring him because he was left with no choice after he got there himself: “They brainwashed us and told us we won’t be losing out if we focus on it. I was convinced and even invited my blood brother and several friends into it.”

He said they would tell a lot of lies to potential victims just to make them leave their home country. They would promise them jobs in both African and European countries.

He further said newbies had the choice to back out and request a refund of their money if they were not convinced and they would get it, but it was often not easy. On Ayoola’s part, he said he was also convinced like him and signed a contract to be a member of QNET.

He said the job required that they provided two persons and Ayoola also tried to lure his friends and in-laws to the country, only that he did not succeed.

Adeniyi said he feels sorry Ayoola was caught in the web of the trafficking syndicate but he was also caught in their net.

“I can’t face my family right now because I’ve let them down after they borrowed money for me to travel there. I went to Burkina Faso based on trust same way Ayoola did,” Adeniyi said on Tuesday.

“I left the moment I realised we had been scammed. I also advised Ayoola to leave, but he insisted that I must pay him his money before he would go, even though he knows very well that I didn’t receive a penny from it.

“I told him how sorry I was about the whole situation because he got there through me. I never expected it would turn out this way. I am trying to get myself back on my feet, but the trauma from the whole experience is making it difficult for me.”

Godson, whom Ayoola referred to as the Vision Counsellor (VC), denied being involved in any form of trafficking or knowing Femi Ayoola. Adeniyi had mentioned him as a ring leader in the trafficking scheme. Godson told FIJ the initials ‘VC’ came from Vincent, his father’s name.

He also said he worked as a plumber, however, he admitted having affiliations with QNET after several initial denials. He said he was also lured to Burkina Faso on the premise of a promising job.

“I was brought to Burkina Faso by someone I did not know. He was a friend of my brother. I left all I was doing in Nigeria only to arrive here and discover it is a networking business called QNET. I felt so bad in my spirit because it wasn’t what I expected but I decided to give the business a try,” he told FIJ on Tuesday.

“Regarding the claims that I am a ringleader of traffickers and on the run in Sierra Leone: First, when I got involved with QNET, I knew it wasn’t a do-or-die situation. However, at some point, I realised it wasn’t something I could survive on because it’s not a quick hustle. I had to hit the streets and find other means to survive.

“My worst decision was bringing in my wife, but I never collected any money from anyone. If Femi (Ayoola) is sure of his allegations, he should provide proof of the N1.4 million payment he claims to have sent to me.

“Anyone from Burkina Faso who says I did something bad to them will never see good. I am a victim too, and I even brought my wife and a good friend here. I explained to them what I was doing because I didn’t want anyone to go through what I went through. After everything, I had to find work for my wife here.

“Can you ask Ayoola Femi to send you the proof of the N1.4 million payment he says he made?”

FIJ also sent WhatsApp messages to Solomon, who Ayoola said guards the victims day and night to prevent their escape; Bylon, who urged Adeniyi to lure Ayoola to Burkina Faso and supervised the process; Kefas, who doctors fake documents for the gang; an official of the Nigerian embassy who provides intel to the traffickers; and Teddy, one of the trafficking leaders, but none of them had responded at press time.