It is no longer news that the federal government secured the release of Zainab Aliyu, a student who was arrested and detained on arrival in Saudi Arab
It is no longer news that the federal government secured the release of Zainab Aliyu, a student who was arrested and detained on arrival in Saudi Arabia in December by the Saudi Arabian authorities for being in possession of an illegal drug believed to be Tramadol. But what many don’t know is the efforts the government made to ensure she doesn’t fall victim to the predominantly Muslim country with a very harsh death penalty for drug smugglers.
Zainab Aliyu’s release was a result of diplomatic engagements between the federal government and the Saudi Arabian government. According to the permanent secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mustapha Suleiman, Zainab was released to the Nigerian Mission in Saudi Arabia. The release is sequel to President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, to immediately intervene in the case.
A student of Maitama Sule University, Kano, Zainab’s ordeal began when she travelled from the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, and was arrested in Saudi Arabia for being in possession of Tramadol. Her father, Habib Aliyu, appealed to the Nigerian and Saudi Arabian governments and the international community to intervene in his daughter’s case. President Buhari intervened and directed the AGF and minister of justice to immediately intervene in the case
Ambassador Suleiman said that the federal government made very fruitful efforts to establish Zainab’s innocence. He said that the government sent several note verbale to the Saudi Embassy in Abuja and its Consulate in Kano over the matter. “We piled up the pressure of interventions and there have been discussions at various levels between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Saudi authorities,” Suleiman added. He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deployed all available diplomatic channels to ensure Zainab’s release.
“In addition to that, our ministry, in conjunction with the mission in Saudi was able to bring to the attention of Saudi, the level of the innocence of these people. We engaged in other diplomatic ways, we wrote several letters, sent the same letters to the Saudi embassy here and the consulate in Kano. We also had several interventions and various discussion between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General of the Federation on this same issue. We passed documents relating to the trial of the suspects that were arrested in Kano, as well as information of the judicial process,” Suleiman said.
The ambassador further said that another Nigerian, Ibrahim Abubakar, was also wrongly detained and will also be soon released. Abubakar, Suleiman added, was not released because the authorities got to his detention centre during close of work. He is reportedly billed to be released on Wednesday, May 1.
After several back and forth, the Saudi government eventually released Zainab Aliyu after investigations by the Nigerian authorities revealed that a drug cartel in Nigeria packaged drugs in her luggage. Suleiman said the drug culprits had been arrested and would be prosecuted.
