Published 13th Jun, 2022

By Tola Owoyele

Osarobo and Precious Izekor, a Nigerian couple based in Northern Ireland, are to be sentenced later this month in a Crown Court for subjecting a fellow Nigerian lady to forced labour in their home between 2016 and 2017.

According to the Irish Mirror, the couple is also expected to pay a £10,000 compensation to the lady apart from facing jail term.

While being tried, the Izekors admitted keeping the unnamed lady as a domestic slave in East Belfast for a 10-month period.

The case is said to be one of the first prosecutions under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act in the country.

Speaking on the matter, Charles MacCreanor, a barrister working on the case, said the victim, who could not read and write, arrived the country in 2011 and worked as a nanny for Osarobo’s sister for a five-year period.

When Osarobo’s sister returned to Nigeria in 2016, the lady moved in with the couple who promised her that whatever money she made from working in their home would be sent to her family back in Nigeria for safe keeping.

While she worked for the couple, her international passport and other documents were seized from her. She was also not paid any money, contrary to the promise they made to her.

During the period, the lady also developed an intimate relationship with one of Osarobo’s relatives. As the relationship blossomed, the relative expressed a desire that the lady return home with him so they could get married.

The planned marriage prompted the lady to demand that her seized passport and other documents be returned to her, but Osarobo and Precious refused.

According to MacCreanor, the argument over passport handover later led to a ‘deterioration of relations’.

The Nigerian lady would later leave the Izekors’ residence to stay with a friend. When the lady told her friend about how the couple had exploited her, she was advised to contact the Home Office to report the incident.

When Home Office officials contacted the Izekors on the issue, they both denied knowing the lady.

The couple was later arrested after officials from the office decided to conduct an investigation on the matter.

After their initial denial, the Izekors admitted that the lady was a family friend, claiming they did not subject her to any form of forced labour.

Text messages between the husband and wife however indicated the control they had over the lady whilst she was living with them.

The couple’s sentencing is scheduled for June 27.

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