The Nigeria Police have arrested a Chinese couple for allegedly locking up eight Nigerian employees in their Abuja apartment for the past four months.
The eight domestic workers were rescued on Tuesday by the personnel Utako Divisional Police Station following information by a resident, who reported the incident to the Human Rights radio station.
The Police raided the residence of the Chinese couple in the Jabi area of the FCT and took the unidentified foreigners and domestic staff to the station.
In a video by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, the victims said they have been locked up in the residence since February.
One of the workers, who did not give her name, said they were not allowed to move out of the building and she was not allowed to treat herself when she was ill.
“When I was seriously sick, I asked these people (Chinese employers) to open the gate for me, but they refused until I became very angry before they opened the door. I know my life may be at risk but I don’t mind, let the world know what is happening.
“They told us that if someone was going out, he could help buy something for us, but when this man (referring to a colleague) went out to buy sachet water, they deducted his salary. What do they want us to do?
“We had to stay in the room and talk to people through the windows. They didn’t give us food; apart from the salary, they didn’t give us anything; they even cut our salaries” She Said.
The driver for the Chinese, Alex, said he and seven others had been working contrary to what they desire for the couple since the coronavirus outbreak in February.
Alex said, “They never allowed us to go out since February; if any of us went out and they know, a certain percentage of the person’s salary would be deducted.
“Even on Monday when this man (pointing at one of his co-workers) sent someone to buy water, N500 was deducted from his salary that has yet to be paid.”
Another worker said the couple deducted ₦3,000 from his salary because he went out to fill his pension form.
The spokesman of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, confirmed the incident. He added that investigation had commenced.
According to Manzah, the Chinese couple had been released on bail.
