Former senator Shehu Sani has issued a cautionary note to wealthy Nigerians who frequently travel overseas with their housemaids or nannies.

In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Sani warned that such arrangements often backfire when domestic staff report allegations of domestic slavery to authorities in the host country — a charge that can lead to arrest and imprisonment.

Africans traveling abroad with housemaids or nannies from their villages: just know that the day that housemaid or nanny reports you to the police in your host country, you could end up in jail, Sani wrote.

The offence is called domestic slavery. The case of Ugandan Judge Lydia Mugambe in the UK should serve as a warning to all.”

His remarks reference a growing trend of legal action in Western countries against individuals accused of exploiting domestic workers brought in from Africa, highlighting the legal and ethical risks of such practices abroad.