A Nigerian lady simply identified as Rose has narrated the ill-treatment she suffered at the hands of a Nigerian couple while working as a nanny for them in the United Kingdom.

According to a BBC investigation published in March, Rose, who is in her early 20s, learned of the UK job opportunity after a family friend from church in Nigeria told her that the wealthy Nigerian couple was in search of a nanny who could help take care of their daughter.

The offer was said to have come before the coronavirus outbreak.

When the church member further told her that the couple was willing to sponsor her studies, she jumped at the offer.

Prior to the period, her father, who was a trader, lost his shop, and this led to his inability to sponsor her educational ambitions.

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After agreements were reached that she would be working for the couple as a nanny, she subsequently travelled to the UK on a six-month tourist visa.

ARRIVAL IN THE UK

Rose said when she arrived in the UK, the couple was initially “nice”, going as far as giving her a room in their four-bedroom apartment.

She, however, later found out that the kind of work the couple subjected her to was not the same as what was advertised to her while in Nigeria.

Rose said she was first taken to a restaurant owned by the couple and made to cook and clean from 5 pm to 5 am from Monday to Saturday every week.

On Sundays, her only days off, she was made to do more chores at home.

“I felt so exhausted… so empty. This was not what they promised me,” Rose said.

Rose added that the gruelling work pattern continued for a year, with the couple refusing to pay her wages. They also did not make good on the promise they made that they would sponsor her education.

“That’s when it dawned on me – ‘Oh, these people actually bring me here to work for them as a slave ,” Rose said.

Afraid that the CCTV camera the couple had installed in their home would capture her while calling her family in Nigeria to tell them about how she was being badly treated, Rose said she only made such calls while taking the couple’s daughter to the park.

She further said that even when she had the opportunity to call home, she still could not find the courage to tell her parents what was happening.

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“When I called [my mother] and she asked me, ‘How are you doing?’ – I would lie to her. ‘I’m fine, I’m OK, they are planning to send me to school,” Rose said.

She said the couple would shout at her and also call her “stupid” and “useless”, and she in turn got very scared of them.

RAPED

At a point, the wife returned to Nigeria, and this resulted in Rose being in sole care of the couple’s daughter.

Not only did the new situation leave her trapped, it also exposed her to a new form of exploitation.

“The man abused me in so many ways. Sexually, emotionally, physically,” said Rose.

“He raped me countless times because I can’t talk to anybody.

“My life was hell.”

She eventually told a friend at the restaurant about her ordeal and was persuaded to report the matter to the police.

“I didn’t have that confidence any more because I didn’t see myself as good enough; I didn’t see myself as a human being,” Rose said.

“I see people every day, they see me laugh and smile. Inside I’m crying.”

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THE POLICE

When she eventually reported the matter, the couple was arrested and interviewed by the police. To date, however, no charges have been brought against them, as the police claim investigation is still ongoing.

Rose has since received an initial decision from the Home Office stating that there were “reasonable grounds” to say she had been a victim of modern slavery.

She currently lives in a Salvation Army safe house in Cambridgeshire.