Nigerian domestic worker says Egypt sponsor wants N2.4m for her release

A Nigerian domestic worker in Egypt, Emmanuella Omah, says her sponsor is demanding N2.4m before she can leave the job arrangement and return to Nigeria. Omah made the allegation while speaking to Diaspora Tales on Thursday. She said she had already paid N2.6m from her earnings, leaving N2.4m outstanding under an agreement covering travel expenses and other costs.

“I’m calling on Nigerians to help me because my sponsor made a statement that there was no one who would stop him from collecting his money,” Omah said. She said the total travel expenses were N1.5m, but described the arrangement as a business for the sponsor. The 20-year-old left Lagos for Cairo in May 2025 after a family friend introduced her parents to the sponsor.

She said she accepted the opportunity after being told that girls her age worked in Egypt and earned good pay. Omah said her experience had instead involved working for more than 15 Egyptian employers, mostly women, during the past year. She alleged that she suffered physical assault and verbal abuse, which she said had left her traumatised.

She previously told Saturday PUNCH that three women had maltreated her. According to her account, her last employer beat her after she fell from a ladder while cleaning chandeliers. She said she was later taken to a supervisor’s house, where she had little food and relied partly on money sent by her parents.

Omah said she developed severe stomach pain and was suffering from an ulcer after complaining about the treatment. She is appealing to Nigerians and relevant agencies to help her return home, saying her parents are worried. She said the agreement required her to work for one year and nine months to repay N5m in travel-related costs, while her sponsor insisted she pay the amount for the remaining months if she left early.