A Nigerian couple  living in Arlington in  United States faces a massive jail term for illegally engaging the services of the family housemaid and subjecting her to untold suffering and forced labour.

Emmanuel and Ngozi Nnaji each face up to 55 years in prison after their convictions on conspiracy, forced labor and compulsory imprisonment charges.

Emmanuel and Ngozi Had compelled the old woman, a Nigerian widow to work as their servant for nine years.

The mother of six was said to have been maltreated and inhumanely subjected to untold suffering, a  A federal jury has concluded in Arlington.

According to a Justice Department statement, trial evidence showed the Nigerian-born Nnajis lured the woman to the U.S. with promises of a paid job and the prospect of a child support.

But evidence showed  the couple seized the woman’s passport, isolated her in their home and made her work long hours as their home servant with no days off and little to show in terms of remuneration for the woman’s services. .

Evidence in the court showed that  the couple  didn’t provide support for the woman’s six children in Nigeria and limited and monitored her contact with her family back home.

It was claimed that Emmanuel Nnaji also sexually assaulted the victim, according to the statement.

The woman had told investigators that she met Emmanuel Nnaji in 1996 while working as a nanny for his brother-in-law in Nigeria. Ngozi Nnaji’s brother asked if she would go abroad to work for the couple living in Texas. The woman agreed.

Court documents show that  the man took her to the U.S. Embassy in Lagos and obtained a passport and visa for her in the name of  Comfort Nnaji. Record showed that Comfort Nnaji was Emmanuel Nnaji’s realmother’s name.

The woman said she lived with the Nnajis first in their Irving apartment, then in their Arlington home, and cooked, cleaned and cared for their three children.

According to testimony, The woman was denied freedom in the house and that she was even refused to attend church or have friends.

One day, the woman was able to hide in a closet and call her niece in Nigeria to tell her about her ordeal.

Documents show that the niece told a Nigerian priest who lived in Texas and was back home on vacation.

He gave the niece his cell-phone number and asked her to pass it to her aunt.

The priest returned to Texas in February 2006, established contact with the woman and helped plan her escape from  the family.

On Feb. 24, 2006, the priest drove to Arlington, where the woman met him on a street corner holding a bag and fled in his car.

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