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‘I’d chain you up in my basement’: YouTuber recalls shocking comment from Nigerian immigration officer
YouTuber Lexie Alford recounted a disturbing encounter with a Nigerian immigration officer who suggested he would chain her in his basement.
American YouTuber and travel vlogger Lexie Alford has opened up about her disturbing experience in Nigeria, where an immigration officer allegedly told her he would like to chain her up in his basement. Alford took to Instagram on April 5 to share details of the incident, saying the officer’s remarks were the “creepiest thing” anyone has ever said to her.
Lexie Alford holds a Guinness World Record for becoming the youngest person to travel to all sovereign countries in 2019. She has travelled to 196 countries - and faced some disturbing experiences along the way. One such experience occurred while she was flying out of Nigeria
“Chain you up”
According to Alford, she was at the airport alone when an immigration officer leered at her and suggested that if it were up to him, he would not let her leave the country.
“I was leaving Nigeria and going through immigration alone when the officer looked me up and down and said, ‘If it were up to me, I wouldn’t let you leave my country. I’d chain you up in my basement,’” Alford recalled.
The travel vlogger was stunned at the officer’s audacity, noting that the encounter occurred in the middle of the day, when the two were surrounded by other people. “In the middle of the day. Surrounded by other officers. While holding my passport,” she wrote on Instagram.
How did she respond? With silence. Alford says she was “too shocked” to reply.
“I was too shocked to even respond. It’s one of the creepiest things anyone has ever said to me and made worse by the fact that it came from someone in a position of power,” she wrote on Instagram.
She ended her post with a word of caution to all women. Alford said she did not mean to discourage women from travelling to Nigeria, but wanted them to be well aware of the risks they could face.
“I share this not to discourage women from traveling, but to be real about the uncomfortable and sometimes unsafe situations that can happen anywhere. Stay aware, trust your gut, and keep going. The world is still worth exploring,” she advised.
Her post has left hundreds of women appalled.
“The horrifying reality of being a woman. So terrifying!” wrote one person in the comments section. “That’s such an uncomfortable comment,” another said.
Some questioned the authenticity of her claims. “Nigerian houses don't have basements though, that term isn't commonly used also,” a user wrote. “This content creator is doing it for clout and SHE KNOWS IT. That expression she used reeks American,” another accused her.
