The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced it has secured the release of three female drug traffickers detained in Saudi Arabia for ten months.
The three women were identified as Hadiza Abba, Fatima Malah and Fatima Gamboi.
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The trio were arrested on March 5, 2024 at the Prince Mohammad bin Abdul Azeez International Airport, Madinah, Saudi Arabia on arrival from Nigeria.
Describing a high-wire diplomatic negotiation that led to the release of the three women, the spokesman of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa in statement issued on Sunday in Abuja stated that the “release was achieved after prolonged diplomatic and legal engagements.”
Part of the statement reads:
“The arrest of the three women was a result of the earlier arrest of two Nigerian nationals who were found in possession of 80 capsules of Cocaine weighing 900.28 gm and 70 capsules of Cocaine weighing 789.5gm, respectively.
“The women were detained by the Saudi authorities on suspicion of being accomplices and abating the trafficking of the banned substance found on the aforementioned arrested Nigerians.
“The Ministry wishes to recall that the trio’s arrest attracted much attention in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.
“Their successful release was achieved after prolonged diplomatic and legal engagements, which culminated in their discharge and acquittal, as well as subsequent handover to the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Jedda.
“The ladies were received by Amb. Muazam Nayaya, Consul-General of Nigeria in Jeddah, and currently awaiting relevant immigration processes for their return to Nigeria to reunite with their families.”
Saudi Arabia has some of the stringent ant-drug trafficking laws which culminate in capital punishment for any conviction.
On January 1, 2025, Saudi Arabia authorities announced it had executed six Iranian nationals convicted of illicit drug offences in the kingdom.
The six Iranians were he six were executed in Dammam, on the Gulf coast, for having “clandestinely introduced hashish” into the kingdom, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. The statement did not disclose the particular time or date of the executions,
Between 2023 and 2024 Saudi Arabia carried out at least 508 executions. 338 were executed in 2024 while 170 convicts were executed in 2023. Of the 2024 executions, 117 were convicted drug traffickers.