FIJ Journalist Fisayo Soyombo Spends 47 Days Undercover on Nigeria-Libya Migrant Route
By Aliyu Oyewole
Investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo has spent 47 days undercover retracing one of Africa’s most dangerous irregular migration routes from Nigeria through Niger Republic and the Sahara Desert into Libya.
Soyombo, founder of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), documented the journey in a three-part investigation titled “UNDERCOVER: Europe Through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea.” (Foundation For Investigative Journalism)
The investigation, published between September 23 and 25, 2026, details the harsh realities confronting African migrants who travel through trafficking networks in search of routes to Europe.
Soyombo began the journey in Kano on May 22, 2026, before travelling through Magaria, Zinder, Agadez and Dirkou in Niger, and later through al Gatrun and Sabha in Libya before reaching Tripoli.
According to the investigation, the journey exposed him to prolonged confinement, extreme heat, dangerous desert crossings, vehicle breakdowns, extortion and physical abuse.
18 days stranded in Agadez
One of the most difficult stages of the journey occurred in Agadez, where Soyombo spent 18 days waiting for the next stage of the trip.
Thirteen of those days were reportedly spent inside a room in extreme heat as he waited for traffickers to arrange transportation.
The investigation described migrants being transported on overloaded pickup trucks, sometimes sitting on top of sacks and other goods while travelling through the desert.
Soyombo also documented how migrants were expected to perform physically demanding tasks and navigate dangerous conditions with little control over their movements.
Desert dangers and migrant deaths
As the journey progressed, Soyombo encountered accounts of migrants facing dehydration, abandonment, extortion and violence.
In one section of the investigation, he documented six migrants who reportedly died of dehydration during the journey around the Madama area.
He also described encounters with armed men and dangerous desert crossings, including occasions when migrants were forced to trek across the desert while vehicles continued ahead.
The investigation further documented allegations of abuse and exploitation involving traffickers and security personnel along different stages of the route. (Foundation For Investigative Journalism)
From Niger to Libya
After weeks of travelling through the Sahara, Soyombo eventually reached Libya, where he encountered migrants from Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, South Sudan and other African countries.
His account from Libya described overcrowded shelters, harsh living conditions and further movement through networks controlling migrants’ transportation.
At one point, migrants were reportedly forced to travel on foot through part of the desert before being reunited with their vehicle.
Soyombo said the experience exposed a system in which migrants can lose control of their money, movement and personal safety long before reaching the Mediterranean.
Why migrants keep taking the route
The investigation also highlights the desperation driving many migrants to undertake the dangerous journey.
Despite the risks of the Sahara, trafficking networks and the Mediterranean crossing, migrants continue to pursue the route in the hope of reaching Europe and finding better economic opportunities.
Soyombo’s undercover experience provides a first-person account of conditions that are often reduced to statistics about missing or dead migrants.
The investigation ultimately presents the Nigeria-to-Libya route as a journey marked not only by physical danger but also by exploitation and abuse of vulnerable people seeking opportunities outside their home countries.
