The Federal Government has secured the release of Zainab Aliyu, a student who was wrongly arrested for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed today that Zainab was released after the government was able to establish her innocence.
Zainab had travelled through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) for Lesser Hajj with her mother, Maryam, and sister, Hajara.
A petition filed by Aliyu’s family later led the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to uncover a cartel at MAKIA which specializes in planting illicit drugs in travelers’ luggage.
The arrest of seven members of the cartel led to the discovery that the tramadol-bearing luggage was planted on Zainab without her knowledge.
Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had disclosed yesterday that another Nigerian, Ibrahim Abubakar, who was most likely another victim of the cartel, will be released to the Nigerian Mission in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first of May.
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