Inside Nigeria’s Illegal Domestic Servitude Epidemic

Content warning: This story describes the sexual abuse of minors.

KANO STATE, Nigeria — When Amina Ado was sent from her rural village in Wudil, Kano State, to work as a housemaid for a family in Lagos, following the death of her family, she was just 9 years old. She quickly became an orphan entrusted to an employment agent, who served as a link between the girl’s family and wealthy families seeking laborers. 

For almost five years, Ado told More to Her Story she endured beatings, starvation, and sexual abuse. “I learned how to move through the house like a shadow,” she said.

No matter how small Ado tried to make myself, the family’s son made multiple advances at her, “especially during the nights when he [came] to my room.”

The first time it happened, she was scrubbing the family’s bathroom floor, her knees raw against the tiles. He cornered her, and his hands groped under her faded dress. 

“I was scared, and I froze. My voice [was] trapped in my throat like a stone, knowing that I [could] not do anything but cry, because who will ever believe my complaint as a poor housemaid?” she said. “I thought I would die there.”

Ado made several attempts to escape during her employment. But with each attempt, punishment followed: locked in a dark room entire days, starved, and intimidated into compliance.

“But [in a third attempt], I waited until midnight, climbed through a bathroom window, and ran barefoot into the streets without knowing anywhere to go. And that is when someone, a northerner who works as a security guard in the neighborhood, saw me and helped me go back to Kano,” she explained.

Recovering in her hometown, Ado’s brother reported her employer to the police. But instead of offering help, “they said there was nothing they could do, since [the abuse] happened in Lagos, not Kano. One of the officers even advised us to drop the case and move on with our lives, warning that pursuing it would cost a lot of money; money we simply don’t have.”

Like Ado, thousands of girls across Nigeria — some as young as 10 — remain trapped in domestic servitude, often enduring abuse with little hope for justice. 

“At the End of the Day, We Cannot Do Anything”

What Ado endured was what global advocates would constitute as modern slavery, an issue that remains endemic in Nigeria and beyond: The 2023 Global Slavery Index estimates that 1.6 million people in Nigeria were living in modern slavery in 2021, or 7.8 per 1,000 people, placing Nigeria fifth in Africa and 38th globally in prevalence. 

In interviews with several families, More to Her Story uncovered a disturbing pattern in Northern Nigeria, where so-called “agents” act as intermediaries in recruiting children — primarily girls — into domestic servitude. These recruiters often approach impoverished families with promises of education or fair wages for their children, claiming they will be employed by wealthy households in urban centers. In reality, many of these children are sold into exploitative conditions. 

According to a senior police superintendent who spoke on condition of anonymity, wealthy employers typically pay a one-time or monthly fee, ranging from ₦3,000 to ₦6,000 (about $2 to $4 USD per month), to the agent or, in some cases, directly to the child’s family. Some arrangements are formalized through informal contracts, promising annual payments. 

These practices violate Nigeria’s Child Rights Act, which prohibits child trafficking, forced labor, and any form of exploitation or abuse.

“In most cases, these agents were relatives or individuals with an established relationship with the poor families, through which they gained the parents’ trust to place the children in secure jobs in wealthy households,” said a senior police superintendent in Kano. “At the end of the day, we cannot do anything.”

Hajia Aisha Haruna Kabuga, the coordinator of National Council of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria (NCCRAN), overseeing the 19 Northern States in Nigeria, explained that poverty forces many families to send children into exploitative labor.

“Many rural workers [are] promised better lives through urban employment but ultimately end up as domestic slaves,” she said, adding that social norms in Nigeria open the door for the poor treatment of children, and that weak law enforcement and limited economic opportunities trap children.

In 2023, 12-year-old Fatima from Katsina State was recruited by her aunt to work for a wealthy family in Abuja, lured by promises of food, safety, and an education. Over the eight months she spent with the family, Fatima worked a minimum of 18 hours a day. She was paid ₦6,000 (about $4 USD) per month—money sent to her aunt, who took a ₦2,000 ($1.50 USD) cut before passing the remaining ₦4,000 ($2.50) to Fatima’s parents. Neither Fatima nor her mother knew she had effectively been "sold" into domestic servitude. 

“There was a time she was scalded with hot water for not mopping the kitchen. And whenever we [called], they lied and [told] us she is studying,” said her mother, Baba Talatu.

This entire arrangement, including the recruitment, labor, and payments, violates Nigeria’s Child Rights Act, which prohibits child trafficking, forced labor, and exploitation.

Talatu said her daughter managed to escape to a nearby motor park. There, Fatima flagged down a driver heading to Katsina, who brought her back home. Despite her return, the family felt optionless. 

They eventually took Fatima’s aunt to court in search of justice. However, the judge encouraged reconciliation between family members instead of the court system. It was through this process that a distant relative learned of Fatima’s experience. He stepped in, took responsibility for her care, and enrolled her in school.

The Business of Recruitment 

A retired domestic worker recruiter in Kano, who spent 14 years sending young girls from Kano State to wealthy households within and beyond the region, told More to Her Story that the “agent” business is highly profitable.

They explained that success in the trade often depends on having strong connections with security officials, which helps recruiters avoid consequences when things go wrong.

“Sometimes, parents brought their daughters to us, asking for help in finding work for them in wealthy homes,” the recruiter said. “In many villages, girls are married off early, and because the families are poor, they want to save up for their daughters' marriages.”

Recruiters also receive requests directly from affluent families seeking domestic workers. Based on the specific requirements given, they search for suitable girls within their own or neighboring communities to match the description, recruit them, and deliver them to the employers.

“Our main payment comes from the host families who take in the children, but the parents also pay us for placing their daughters in homes where they’ll be better fed and housed than they would be at home," she explained.

The recruiter further disclosed that maintaining close ties with the police is crucial for recruiters avoiding arrest. In rare cases where a child goes missing or runs away, and the matter reaches the authorities, these connections allow recruiters to rely on their “friends” in the force to resolve the situation quietly. Maintaining these ties has included bribing law enforcement agents in advance; in exchange, recruiters are protected through any means possible, including overlooking the law.

An Incomplete System of Justice

Twenty three years since Nigeria's Child Rights Act was signed into law, advocates and victims warn that crucial enforcement gaps remain. According to the National Human Rights Commission, only 24 out of 36 states of Nigeria have adopted the CRA into state law so far.

Aisha Mahdi, a legal expert of Green Edge Attorneys in Kano, who has handled several cases related to child rights’ violations, said there is no legal framework, nor implementation mechanism, that addresses domestic servitude in the country.

“Even the labor law we have, it doesn’t… extend to domestic workers that are being employed in houses and other places,” she added.

While Ado and Fatima’s stories reveal a system that fails Nigeria’s girls, from recruitment to abuse to rescue, legal experts and child rights advocates are calling for urgent action. Without immediate intervention, thousands more will remain trapped in silence, experts warn.

“When every state has domesticated the Act, the existing gaps will be closed. The next step is to engage religious and traditional leaders to raise awareness about what the law entails,” Mahdi explained.

She further stressed that partnering with civil society organizations is crucial to bridging these gaps and strengthening the enforcement of child protection laws.

“Most people at the grassroots level are unaware of their own rights, or their children’s rights. Many don’t even know that sending their children into domestic servitude is illegal,” she added.

Kabuga of the National Council of Child Rights Advocates of Nigeria (NCCRAN), highlights poverty and weak law enforcement as key drivers of child domestic servitude. 

“The only way to alleviate this is through grassroots awareness campaigns to educate families about their children’s rights, and the illegality of such practices. And the government should do everything possible to close these legal gaps, and protect vulnerable children,” she emphasized.

NCCRAN advocates for stronger enforcement of the Child Rights Act, noting that collaboration with traditional and religious leaders, and economic empowerment programs to reduce families’ reliance on child labor will also help significantly in alleviating this epidemic.

Amina Ado’s story doesn’t end with escape; it demands a just system for children like her who are still trapped in servitude.

“No child should suffer what I endured; but first of all, the agent [who recruited me] should be arrested, because they are the ones who trafficked these children [like me],” she said. “They are the devils.”

“I think what matters most is justice. I am glad that I have escaped, and it [has been] so many years now, and I am also happily married. But I will be very happy to see justice is done for every girl still trapped in silence.”

She further explains that: “I hope the system will be sanitized, and justice is done to punish those who exploit children, and our families must know that sending children away is not helping them; rather, it is slavery. So we hope the government will empower us and protect us, or this cycle will never end.”