The Federal Government on Friday
said that drugs were hidden on the body of Kudirat Afolabi, who was executed in
Saudi Arabia on April 1.
It said Afolabi was among the 20
persons arrested with drugs hidden in their body parts.
The Senior Special Assistant to
the President on Foreign Relations and the Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa,
disclosed this on Friday to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
She said the clarification became
necessary in a bid to clear the air regarding the circumstances leading to the
execution of the Nigerian.
Afolabi was executed alongside
two Pakistani men and one Yemeni man, bringing the total number of people
killed by Saudi Arabia this year to 53.
There had been attempts,
especially in the social media, to link Afolabi’s fate with the activities of
alleged syndicates operating at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.
The syndicate allegedly
specialises in planting drugs in the baggage of unsuspecting travelers.
Abike-Dabiri, however, said
Afolabi did not belong to the list of seven who were suspected to have fallen
victim of the four-man gang hard drugs planting syndicate.
“There are some people caught in
Kano, but those they allegedly gave the drugs to are yet to face trials in
Saudi.
“What we can now do is to prevail
on the Saudi authority that those people awaiting trials in their country are
among the victims of the Kano syndicate.
“If Nigeria can do this, through
National Drugs and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigerian mission in
Saudi Arabia, they might not even be charged to court.
“Ms Afolabi was one of those
drugs were found on their bodies. They were 20 in number. They are the ones on
the death roll, as drugs were found on their bodies, including their private
parts.
“In their case, the Saudis do not
appear to waste so much time on them. What is on social media that the lady
could have been saved was incorrect.
“There was no way we could have
done that. She was found with drugs on her body; just like the other 20,” the
presidential aide said.
She, however, pointed out that in
the case of those awaiting trials, the NDLEA can work with the Nigerian mission
in Saudi to save them.
“Who knows, maybe if the NDLEA
forward their information to the Saudis that some of these people might be
innocent of the crime, they might not even go on trial.
“But we must continue to move
fast and in harmony, so that we ensure the innocent was not unjustly punished,”
she said.
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