Journalist Spends 47 Days Undercover With Migrants Crossing Sahara To Europe

Editors Pick

 

Nigerian investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo has revealed he spent 47 days undercover, posing as an African migrant attempting the perilous journey to Europe through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea. 🇳🇬 

 

For his latest investigation with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, he travelled from Kano in Nigeria through notorious smuggling hubs in Niger and Libya, on the route thousands take each year toward Italy.

 

He returned to document harrowing tales of deaths, starvation, rape, torture, abduction and the modern-day enslavement of African migrants at the hands of traffickers.

 

Soyombo also shared photos of his dramatic physical transformation, including images from his 44th day in the field, saying he wanted to show the physical and mental cost of the work.

 

The award-winning reporter, known for previous undercover exposés on Nigeria's prisons and police, said the project offered a rare, unfiltered glimpse into one of the world's deadliest migration routes.