Five Nigerian workers stranded in Basra, Iraq, have appealed to the Federal Government for urgent intervention following the death of a colleague in a factory accident, alleging they were deceived into accepting dangerous jobs different from those promised before leaving Nigeria.
The workers said they were recruited for positions as forklift operators, hotel cleaners and security guards but were instead assigned to physically demanding factory work upon arrival in Iraq.
According to them, repeated complaints to their labour recruiters and employers were ignored, while promises to transfer them to the agreed jobs never materialised.The workers also claimed that their visas expired without renewal despite assurances from their employers and recruitment agents, leaving them stranded and vulnerable.
Their appeal follows the death of colleague Yahaya Abdulrahaman Oladimeji, who reportedly died after an industrial machine crushed him while he was working at a block-manufacturing factory.
The stranded Nigerians alleged that they had repeatedly warned management about faults in the factory’s equipment before the fatal incident but said no meaningful repairs were carried out.
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They further claimed they worked under extreme temperatures of between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius, handling heavy tasks with little regard for their safety and welfare.
The workers accused the company of showing little concern after the fatal accident, alleging that operations resumed shortly after the incident and that management focused more on production than workers’ wellbeing.
They have appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) to facilitate their immediate return to Nigeria.
The workers also called on Nigerian authorities to investigate the labour recruitment process that took them to Iraq, alleging they were victims of false job offers, exploitative working conditions and neglect.Efforts to obtain responses from the labour recruiters and the Iraqi company identified by the workers were unsuccessful at the time the report was published.
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