EXCLUSIVE: Non-fiction production outfit Raw TV, best known for titles like The Tinder Swindler and Three Identical Strangers, has set a ten-part podcast series titled Cursed at Audible.
British-Nigerian journalist Femi Oke will present the series, which follows the story of an ancient Nigerian deity who successfully lured modern women into sex slavery.
Cursed is the second Audible series created and produced by Raw TV. The two companies previously collaborated on The Second Victim, the story of a Black baby who is adopted into a white family in rural 1970s England.
Cursed begins in 2016 when a young woman turns up at a brothel in Germany on a cold December evening with a French passport without being able to speak a word of French. The official synopsis reads: After a worldwide investigation, it emerges that she is part of a group of young women who were being trafficked from Nigeria. Before they left, they were made to go through a spiritual juju ritual which bound them to their trafficker. If they broke the oath, a curse would be unleashed upon them and their families.
“This series has traffickers, victims, authorities, and an ancient goddess collide in a unique way,” Oke said. “Taking listeners deep into the spirit world of Nigeria while investigating crime has been the most challenging assignment of my life. I hope Cursed is as compelling to listen to as it was to make.”
Deborah Dudgeon, Executive Producer at Raw Podcasts added: “Through incredible access to the National Crime Agency and their international partners, as well as some of the families affected – all of whom were so generous with their involvement – we have been able to deep dive into this extraordinary investigation, exploring how the perpetrators were brought down as well as the bravery of the victims who came forward to expose them.”
Cursed launches on September 12.
