Abike Dabiri Erewa, NIDCOM boss
A Nigerian has been discharged by a court in Saudi Arabia after charges of drug trafficking levelled against him were dismissed.
Ibrahim Ibrahim, a native of Zamfara state was arrested in Jedda in 2017 after authorities discovered illegal drugs in his bag allegedly trafficked to the kingdom.
According to the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, a delegation from NIDCOM and Zamfara state Government arrived in Jeddah for the trial slated for 18th February 2020 with documentary evidence showing that Ibrahim was set up by some people who have been arrested and confessed to committing the act.
The documentary evidence included; “a written statement by NDLEA stating that they have arrested and charged three persons who planted the drugs on the defendant and a certified copy of the two counts sheet from the Federal High Court Kano.
The commission stated that the documents were provided to the Saudi Court, after which they ruled in favour of Ibrahim and discharged him.
A statement on Monday, February 17, by the Zamfara state government had said Ibrahim was facing charges of entering Saudi Arabia with hard drugs, an offence punishable by death under the laws of the country.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that two lower courts in Saudi Arabia had set Ibrahim free, ruling that he was wrongly accused but the government appealed the case at a higher court.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, welcomed the news and thanked the delegates sent to Saudi Arabia.
In a twitter message she wrote, “Great news from Saudi. Ibrahim Ibrahim locked up for 3 years for an offense he didn’t commit , has been released , Head of legal,@nidcom_gov , Barr Bello, two reps from Zamfara,Gov, travelled to Saudi ,along with our mission and AGs office made this happen.
