Bolaji Bolarinwa, a Nigerian woman based in the United States, has been sentenced to 45 months in prison for forcing two Nigerian women into domestic servitude, in a case that has drawn condemnation from US authorities and renewed calls for vigilance against human trafficking.
In a statement issued by the US Department of Justice on Monday, Bolarinwa was found guilty of forced labour, alien harbouring, and servitude, following a two-week trial before district judge Karen williams. The offences took place between December 2015 and October 2016, during which the convict lured two victims from Nigeria under false pretences and subjected them to sustained physical, emotional and psychological abuse.
According to the statement, Bolarinwa confiscated the victims’ passports on arrival in the US and compelled them to work around the clock in her home, taking care of her children and performing household chores. The victims were held under threats, physical violence, isolation, and constant surveillance.
“The defendant engaged in this conduct knowing that one of the victims was out of lawful immigration status while working in her home,” the Justice Department noted.
The abuse came to light when one of the victims, a student, bravely reported her ordeal to a college professor. That disclosure prompted an FBI investigation that led to Bolarinwa’s arrest in October 2016.
“Once the first victim arrived in the United States in December 2015, Bolarinwa confiscated her passport and coerced her through threats of physical harm to her and her daughter, verbal abuse, isolation and constant surveillance to compel her to work every day, around the clock for nearly a year,” the statement said.
By April 2016, Bolarinwa had recruited a second victim, who arrived on a student visa. She was similarly forced into unpaid labour, with Bolarinwa relying more heavily on physical abuse to enforce compliance.
Both victims remained in her home until the second woman’s alert to her professor set the investigation in motion.
Judge Williams handed down a sentence of 45 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and ordered Bolarinwa to pay $87,518.72 in restitution to the victims, along with a $35,000 fine.
Reacting to the judgement, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated: “The Justice Department is committed to fully enforcing our federal human trafficking statutes to vindicate the rights of survivors and hold human traffickers accountable for such shameful exploitation of vulnerable victims.”
Terence Reilly, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, urged the public to be alert to signs of abuse and trafficking, stressing that such crimes often occur in plain sight.
“Bolarinwa lured women with false promises, held them captive, and forced them to clean her home and care for her children. Then, took it a sickening step further by physically abusing them,” Reilly said. “We ask anyone who notices an odd situation, something that doesn’t look or feel right, to please call us so we can help victims that may be hiding in plain sight.”
Human trafficking and forced labour remain significant challenges globally. US authorities have reaffirmed their stance that such crimes will be prosecuted vigorously, regardless of the perpetrators’ background.
