The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the release of three Nigerian women who were arrested and prosecuted for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia.
Hadiza Abba, Fatima Umate Malah, and Fatima Kannai Gamboi were reported to have spent 10 months after they were arrested for drug trafficking at the Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Azeez International Airport on March 5 in the Middle Eastern country.
The ministry’s acting Spokesperson, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, in a statement, said the arrest of the three Nigerian women was a result of the arrest of two Nigerian nationals who were found in possession of 80 capsules of cocaine weighing 900.28 grams and 70 capsules of cocaine weighing 789.5 gram respectively.
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“The women were detained by the Saudi authorities and accused of complicity and abetting the trafficking of the banned substance found on the earlier aforementioned arrested Nigerians,” said Ebienfa.
The case gained attention and the ministry secured their release after a series of diplomatic and legal engagements.
Abba, Malah, and Gamboi were handed over to the Consulate-General of Nigeria in Jeddah, Ambassador Muazam Nayaya, and are awaiting the completion of immigration processes to facilitate their return to their home country.
