A 22-year-old Nigerian woman identified as Adaora who attempted migrating to Europe through Sahara Desert has survived after being abandoned by traffickers for 10 days in the desert.
The International Organization for Migration disclosed that the woman was the only female among the survivors of a rescue mission.
According to Giuseppe Loprete, Niger Chief of Mission for International Organization Migration said she left Nigeria in early April hoping for a better future in Europe. There were 50 migrants on the pick-up truck when it left Agadez for Libya, but only six are still alive today.
Narrating her ordeal, the Nigerian survivor said: “We were in the desert for 10 days. After five days, the driver abandoned us. He left with all of our belongings, saying he was going to pick us up in a couple of hours, but he never did. During the next two days, 44 of the migrants died which persuaded the six left to start walking to look for help. We had to drink our own pee to survive.
Adaora, said she had left Nigeria with two close female friends, who both died in the desert. They were too weak to keep going.
Speaking further she said “We buried a few, but there were just too many to bury and we didn’t have the strength to do it. I couldn’t walk anymore. I wanted to give up, two other migrants carried me until a truck driver picked us up and took us to local authorities who then alerted IOM staff in Dirkou in the Agadez Region of north-eastern Niger.
Inside Sources gathered that by the time the six survivors reached IOM’s transit centre in Dirkou, Adaora was unconscious. She received medical assistance, and once recovered, she gave a detailed account of her experience to both the authorities and IOM staff.
Adaora who is currently recovering at IOM’s transit centre for migrants in Niamey, awaiting her imminent voluntary return to Nigeria said she had no idea what the route was going to be like; otherwise she would have never left Nigeria.
