Saudi authorities have released three Nigerian pilgrims who were wrongfully detained in Jeddah last month on allegations of drug trafficking.
The Director of Media and Advocacy of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Femi Babafemi, confirmed their release on Wednesday at a press briefing in Abuja.
The freed pilgrims are Maryam Hussain Abdullahi, Abdullahi Bahijja Aminu, and Abdulhamid Saddieq. They had been held for four weeks after drugs were found in luggage fraudulently tagged with their names at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport before boarding an Ethiopian Airlines flight ET940 to Jeddah on August 6, 2025.
Babafemi said their freedom followed “weeks of sustained engagements” by NDLEA Chairman, Brig Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (rtd), with Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control (GDNC), backed by President Bola Tinubu and senior Nigerian officials including Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo (SAN), and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
NDLEA investigations revealed that a syndicate at the Kano airport planted the contraband. The probe led to the arrest of 55-year-old alleged kingpin Mohammed Ali Abubakar (aka Bello Karama) and three accomplices, including airline staff. Charges have since been filed against them.
One of the pilgrims was released on Sunday and the other two on Monday.
Babafemi noted that the case underscored Tinubu’s directive that no Nigerian should suffer unjustly abroad. He commended Saudi authorities for honoring the MoU on counter-narcotics cooperation between both nations.
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