Nigerian woman killed in Saudi Arabia was a drug smuggler- FG

The Federal Government on Friday said that drugs were hidden in the body of Kudirat Afolabi, the Nigerian woman whose execution by the Saudi Arabia government on April 1 had generated national outcry.

According to the government, Afolabi was among the 20 persons arrested with drugs hidden in their body parts.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Relations and the Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who disclosed this on Friday to newsmen in Lagos, said the clarification became necessary in a bid to clear the air regarding the circumstances leading to the execution of the Nigerian.

Our correspondent reports that Afolabi was executed alongside two Pakistani men and one Yemeni man. Their execution brings the total number of people killed by Saudi Arabia this year to 53.

Before the Federal Government’s explanation, there had been attempts, especially in the social media, to link Afolabi’s fate with the activities of alleged syndicates that specialises in planting drugs in the baggage of unsuspecting travelers at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.

However, Abike-Dabiri, said Afolabi did not belong to the list of seven who are suspected to have fallen victim of the four-man hard drugs planting syndicate, declaring that “there are some people caught in Kano, but those they allegedly gave the drugs to are yet to face trial in Saudi Arabia.

“What we can now do is to prevail on the Saudi authority that those people awaiting trial in their country are among the victims of the Kano syndicate. If Nigeria can do this, through the National Drugs and Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigerian Mission in Saudi Arabia, they might not even be charged to court.

“But, Ms. Afolabi was one of those drugs were found on their bodies. They were 20 in number. They are the ones on the death row, as drugs were found in 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 however, pointed out that in the case of those awaiting trial, the NDLEA can work with the Nigerian Mission in Saudi Arabia to save them, adding that “who knows, maybe if the NDLEA forwards 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 innocents are not unjustly punished.”