Nigerian govt secures release of alleged drug traffickers Zainab, Abubakar in Saudi Arabia

The Federal Government has secured the release of Zainab Habibu Aliyu and Ibrahim Abubakar who were arrested in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug trafficking.

The pair were released individually to the Nigeria Mission in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Zainab was accused of drug peddling in Saudi Arabia and arrested sometime in December 2018 with Tramadol, a banned substance.

Read also: Gunmen invade Taraba State University, kidnap Deputy Registrar

However, investigations by the Nigerian government had reportedly revealed that the drug was planted in Zainab’s luggage by a cartel that specialises in planting drugs in the bags of unsuspecting travelers.

The release of Zainab was confirmed by an aide to President Muhammadu Buhari on new media, Bashir Ahmed on his twitter handle.

The Office of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed the release Ibrahim Abubakar, the second Nigerian involved in the case.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now