London Couple Guilty Of Keeping Man As A Slave For 24 Years

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A British doctor and his wife were found guilty on Tuesday of keeping a Nigerian immigrant as a slave in their home for more than two decades, forcing him to work without pay and threatening him with deportation if he tried to escape.

The couple, Emmanuel and Antan Edet, from Perivale, north west London were found guilty at Harrow Crown Court on charges of child cruelty, slavery and assisting in illegal immigration.

Ofonime Sunday Inuk was 14 when he was taken in by the couple, who told the teen when they brought him from Nigeria in 1989, that they would pay him and provide him with an education, prosecutors said.

Instead, the victim was forced to cook, clean, garden and care for the couple’s children without any pay for up to 17 hours a day.

According to the prosecution the victim was robbed of his identity, education, freedom and money.

The BBC reports:

During the case, Mr Inuk told the court he had been promised an English education, but was instead made to work, with the warning that if he left the house or went to the police he would be arrested for being an illegal immigrant.

The court heard he had made attempts to escape and spoke to the police in 2005, but was left “a bit dejected” after being told by an officer it was a “family matter”.

Ten years later he contacted the Metropolitan Police again when he saw media reports about modern slavery and realised the life he was being made to lead was wrong.

He also emailed the charity Hope for Justice, which in turn contacted Scotland Yard to co-ordinate his release.

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Prosecutor Damaris Lakin told the court: “Emanuel and Antan Edet have cruelly robbed this victim of 24 years of his life. They have treated him with complete contempt.

“Not only did the defendants have total psychological control over the victim, but they also had control of his passport and identity documents.

“This was a shocking case of modern day slavery which has no place in our society.”

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