Nigerian disc jockey Rachel Oluwabukola Martins, popularly known as DJ Dimple Nipple, has shared her painful experience with immigration officials in the Philippines.
In a lengthy Instagram statement titled “My Manila Immigration Nightmare,” she recounted how she and her best friend were detained, strip-searched, filmed, and forced to sleep on the floor at a facility she described as a detention center—despite possessing valid visas, return flight tickets, and support from both event sponsors and the Nigerian Embassy.
“I was so excited about my gig in the Philippines. I had prepared thoroughly, spent a lot of money, made all the necessary arrangements, and was genuinely looking forward to the experience,” she wrote.
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Martins detailed how their journey from Lagos to Manila—via Qatar—took nearly an entire day. But their enthusiasm quickly turned to distress upon arrival.
“We greeted the officers politely, but they were cold and unwelcoming,” she explained. “Still, we remained respectful and handed over our passports.”
According to her, despite presenting all required documentation, including sponsorship letters and proof of funds, the officers subjected them to intense questioning, invasive searches, and hours of uncertainty.
“I told them I had 500 dollars and cards for backup. I explained we were being sponsored by CCMNL, the event organisers, and answered all their questions honestly,” she said.
Rather than allowing them entry, the officers reportedly took them to a supervisor’s office, where they were left without communication for hours. Attempts to use the restroom were monitored, and both Martins and her companion were individually interrogated.
“They asked what I do for a living, and I told them I’m a DJ. Then they shifted focus to the organisers, asking how the sponsor met her husband, who is Nigerian,” she said.
Despite offering to connect them with the sponsor, who was reportedly waiting at the airport, the authorities refused any form of contact.
The situation escalated when over 30 officers, some recording the entire process, carried out a full search of their belongings. Martins described being surrounded, filmed, and searched with sniffer dogs—despite no evidence of wrongdoing being found.
“They made us open our suitcases and went through everything—our underwear, skincare, hair products, even empty containers,” she stated.
After nearly five hours, Martins said they were informed that entry into the country had been denied. No official explanation was given.
“My best friend asked why, and they simply said it was a personal decision and could not be disclosed,” she recounted.
Efforts by CCMNL and the Nigerian Embassy to intervene were reportedly ignored. With their flight home not scheduled until the following day, they were taken to a makeshift holding facility where Martins said the conditions were terrible.
“When we arrived at the so-called lounge, our hearts sank. It looked like a detention center,” she said, adding that other Nigerians were also being held there—some for months.
“We were freezing and exhausted. We asked for blankets, but they refused. We asked for cardboard to sleep on, like others had, but they claimed not to have any,” she added.
Martins said they eventually pieced together plastic bags and cartons to rest, but the cold woke them within hours. As they waited for their flight, she spoke to others in the facility and was horrified by the conditions.
“There were families, children, and people who hadn’t seen sunlight in months. One man screamed randomly. Others said he’d been there for four months,” she wrote. “A fellow Nigerian told me, ‘If Nigeria was working, most of us would never leave.’ That hit me deeply.”
In a message she received from a CCMNL representative, the reality of their situation was confirmed: “The immigration insisted on not letting you guys go… It is humiliating and disheartening to get this kind of treatment despite all the efforts we made and the intervention from the Nigerian Embassy in Manila.”
Martins described the entire experience as deeply degrading.
“We were racially profiled, humiliated, and treated like criminals. We had every required document. We had sponsorship. We had embassy support. Still, we were denied entry, mistreated, and locked in what looked like a holding cell without dignity, without answers.”
She called on the Nigerian government and Philippine authorities to address the recurring mistreatment of African travelers.
“No one should ever be treated like this,” she wrote. “No Black person traveling for work should be made to feel this disposable, this invisible, this disrespected.”
In a separate Instagram post, Martins openly questioned the Philippines’ visa policy towards Nigerians.
“If you don’t want Nigerians in your country, then why approve our visas?” she asked. “Why collect visa fees only to humiliate, detain, and send us back like criminals?”
As of the time of reporting, the Philippine government has not publicly responded to her allegations.
