A couple have been found guilty of bringing a Nigerian teenager to the UK to work as their slave for almost a quarter of a century.
Doctor Emmanuel Edet, 61, and his wife Antan, 58, of Haymill Close, Perivale, took the victim from his home country without his family’s permission in 1989 and he agreed to be their ‘house boy’ in exchange for payment and schooling.
But he received no education or money and the couple, who worked as a phlebotomist and senior nursing sister, made him carry out gruelling unpaid labour and work for about 17 hours every day for 24 years.
The Edets controlled the victim’s life including what he could wear, when he could leave the house and demanded he spoke to them in Nigerian but to their children in English.
They claimed they had adopted the victim to become a member of their family, but he was not allowed to enter most rooms of the house unless to clean them.
Shockingly, the victim was made to sleep in on the hallway floor, using just a dirty piece of foam as a bed despite there frequently being a spare bedroom in their home.
The victim was so controlled and manipulated by the couple that he would often be left alone for weeks at a time and did not run away.
Before Christmas 2013, the Edets returned to Nigeria and set up a remotely controlled CCTV camera so they could monitor the victim.
After 24 years of being enslaved, the victim saw media reports about modern day slavery contacted the Hope for Justice charity and the Edets were arrested by police on March 6 last year.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Brewer, from the Trafficking and Kidnap Unit, said: “Today the victim is living a new life in the UK. He has a job, a home with his own bed and freedom to move, and he is studying.
“While he will never fully overcome what happened during those 24 years, he is determined to make the most of the rest of his life and today's conviction will help him feel he can do that. In his own words, he has hope and a future now.”
The couple – who were found guilty of holding a person in slavery or servitude, child cruelty and assisting unlawful immigration - will be sentenced at Harrow Crown Court on Wednesday, November 18.
If you are a victim of slavery or have concerns about others, call the Modern Slavery National Trafficking helpline on 0800 0121 700 or visit modernslavery.co.uk.
