TRIPOLI: A Libya-based Nigerian woman, Alimat Idowu, has cried out for help after her neighbour allegedly trafficked her two-year-old daughter, Michelle, from Libya to Italy without her consent.
Idowu, an indigene of Ibadan, Oyo State, said she entrusted her child to her neighbour, identified as Janet Dare Titilayomi, who had lived in the same apartment block with her in Libya for over a year.
Speaking in tears, she narrated how what began as an act of kindness turned into betrayal.
I used to leave my child with Janet whenever I went to work, and she cared for her like her own. She would bathe her, feed her, and even take her for photoshoots. I trusted her because we are both from Ibadan. I thought it was one Nigerian woman helping another in a foreign land, said Idowu.
Her trust was shattered when Janet called her one Tuesday to announce that she had crossed the Mediterranean into Italy with little Michelle.
She said she took my daughter to give her a better life. I was shocked. I never consented to such a dangerous journey. How could she risk the life of a two-year-old on the sea without my permission? she lamented.
Idowu disclosed that when she confronted Janet, the neighbour accused her of being ungrateful and insisted she had already paid for the child’s travel.
The distraught mother said attempts to seek help from Libyan authorities had yielded little results.
They told me the only option is to go to Italy myself, but I don’t want to risk deportation back to Nigeria after three years here. I am confused and helpless, she said.
Idowu explained that her child’s father had also been reaching out, demanding answers and asking her to bring their daughter back home.
My baby daddy is disturbed. We used to video call Michelle every weekend. On the very Sunday Janet travelled, I still saw my daughter, not knowing she was planning to take her away permanently, she recalled.
She added that her cousin and a lawyer in Italy had promised to escalate the case to the Italian police, while she continued to beg for her child’s return.
Idowu refuted claims circulating online that she gave Janet permission to take Michelle to Europe because of a health challenge.
I don’t have any sickness. In Libya, migrants like us undergo medical tests every six months before we can keep working. Janet is just lying to cover her crime,” she said.
She also dismissed rumours that Janet was her sister-in-law.
She is neither my relative nor connected to my baby daddy. She is just a woman I trusted, and she betrayed me. Now, she’s telling people I agreed she should take Michelle.
That’s a lie. My daughter is just two years old. She clocked two in July,” Idowu explained.
Visibly shaken, Idowu appealed directly to the Nigerian government and well-meaning citizens to intervene.
I call on President Bola Tinubu, First Lady Remi Tinubu, and all Nigerians to help me. Please bring my child back.
I carried her for nine months and gave birth to her through a Caesarean section. She is all I have. I am even ready to do a DNA test to prove Michelle is mine, she said.
She expressed fears that her daughter might be placed under state custody in Italy if urgent steps were not taken.
I just want my daughter back. That is my only prayer, she added.
