“The Nigerian embassy in Libya has neglected many people in prison. They don’t help without demanding money, and even after collecting it, they often do nothing,” Olaniyi said in an exclusive interview with Sunday PUNCH.

Titilopeyemi Olaniyi, a 32-year-old widow and mother of two, has recounted her horrific ordeal in a Libyan prison, alleging neglect by the Nigerian embassy in the North African country.

“The Nigerian embassy in Libya has neglected many people in prison. They don’t help without demanding money, and even after collecting it, they often do nothing,” Olaniyi said in an exclusive interview with Sunday PUNCH.

Olaniyi, who spent five months in Sunaya Prison before being deported in January 2025, described how the Nigerian embassy failed to provide even basic relief to prisoners.

“The Nigerian embassy in Libya is not treating Nigerians well. When embassies from other countries visit their citizens, they usually bring relief items such as food, clothing, toiletries, and other essential supplies. But the Nigerian embassy only comes to ask Nigerian prisoners who want to be deported,” she said.

She also revealed that embassy officials often register more deportees than they actually help. “The Nigerian embassy representatives can register close to 100 people for deportation, but only deport 60 people, without accounting for the rest,” she said.

“I signed up for deportation, and it took more than two months before my terms and conditions were made available. Three Nigerians died on the 1st of January while waiting for their terms and conditions. The prison authorities had to call out the embassy because of the way we were being treated,” Olaniyi said.

Olaniyi believes this neglect has left many Nigerians languishing in Libyan prisons with no help or hope of release. “Other embassies come to bail their citizens, but the Nigerian embassy representatives don’t,” she said.

She said that nationals of other countries are also treated better than Nigerians.

“The conditions in the prison were tough and very uncomfortable. Once they hear that someone is a Nigerian, they treat the person poorly. They respect citizens of other countries more than they respect Nigerians,” she said.

Reflecting on her ordeal, Olaniyi said: “The food was bad; they gave us half-done rice in the morning without soup or salt. Some Nigerians there have lost their sanity; some women who came into the prison pregnant died during labour because of the poor food and lack of healthcare services. Nigeria has the highest population of prisoners in the prison I was in. They respect citizens of other countries more than they respect Nigerians.”

Her heartbreaking account has highlighted longstanding concerns about how Nigerian migrants are treated abroad, and the perceived inaction of Nigerian diplomatic missions in providing them with meaningful assistance.