Nigerian labor rights activists are sounding urgent alarms over what they describe as "slavery conditions" facing domestic workers, particularly young women and girls sent to work in urban households where they remain vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and sexual violence.
The warnings come as social media posts have highlighted cases of domestic workers, commonly called "househelps," subjected to physical abuse, wage theft, sexual assault, and effective imprisonment in employers' homes across Nigeria's cities.
Chidinma Okoli, director of the Lagos-based Domestic Workers Rights Initiative, describes a system that leaves workers almost entirely without legal protection. "These are not employees in any meaningful sense," she said. "They're often children or teenagers handed over to families with no contracts, no oversight, and no recourse when abuse occurs."
The practice of sending young relatives, often from rural areas or lower-income families, to work in wealthier urban households is deeply embedded in Nigerian society. Families frame it as an opportunity for the child to receive education or learn skills while helping with household tasks.
But activists argue the reality frequently involves unpaid or severely underpaid labor, denial of education despite promises, restricted movement, and vulnerability to violence that employers know will rarely be reported.
Amina Yusuf, who worked as a domestic worker in Abuja from age 13 to 17, described her experience to local media. "I woke at 5 AM, cooked, cleaned, watched children, slept at midnight. I was never paid the money promised to my family. When I asked, I was beaten."
Her story is far from unique. A 2024 survey by the Nigerian Labour Congress found that an estimated 60% of domestic workers reported experiencing physical violence, while 30% reported sexual abuse or harassment. The survey noted these figures likely undercount the true scope given widespread reluctance to report.
The sexual vulnerability is particularly acute. Young women living in employers' homes, often isolated from family support networks, face advances from male household members with little ability to refuse or escape.
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