The four-month ordeal of Zainab Aliyu, 22-year-old student of Maitama University, Kano, who was recently freed over allegations of illicit drug trafficking to Saudi Arabia holds great lessons for all.
Zainab had set out on a religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia with her sister, Hajara, and mother, Maryam, last December 24, through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano.
Habibu Nuhu Aliyu, a director at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) and Zainab’s father had planned the pilgrimage to commemorate 25 years of his marriage to Maryam, and for the wife and children to offer gratitude to God for the grace upon his family.
The trip turned into a nightmare and almost claimed Zainab’s life, following her arrest on arrival in their hotel in Saudi Arabia, after a luggage with her name tag was found to contain a banned drug, Tramadol.
Trafficking in illicit drug is an offence, which carries death penalty on conviction in the Arabian country. The execution of a Nigerian female convict, Kudirat Afolabi, recently generated wide public attention and concern.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, had also released a list of 23 other convicted Nigerians, awaiting execution in that country.
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With these recent disturbing cases, Mr. Aliyu had lodged a complaint to the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), declaring his daughter’s innocence and calling for investigation to save her from being executed in error.
An NDLEA investigation eventually unraveled the existence of a syndicate at the Kano airport, which specialises in ferrying drugs to Saudi Arabia, using innocent travelers as decoy.
Members of the syndicate were found to have tagged the name of Zainab Aliyu to the luggage, containing the drug.
Six persons have been arraigned in a Federal High Court in Kano for conspiracy, exportation of illicit drug and tagging the luggage containing the drug in the name of Zainab Aliyu. To serve as a deterrent, the suspects must be diligently prosecuted and, on conviction, adequately punished.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention in Miss Aliyu’s case eventually led to her being freed along with two other Nigerian male travelers, who were also held in similar circumstances by the Saudi government.
In a recent editorial, we had urged the Federal Government to move beyond pleading for the release of citizens convicted for drug offences in foreign countries to investigating possible official collusion at the airport of departure. The Zainab Aliyu case had established the possibility of airport personnel, acting as not just facilitators of the unlawful act, but also perpetrating it, using the identity of innocent, unsuspecting travelers, whose lives are endangered in the process.
We, therefore, restate the need for the relevant government agencies to dig deeper to unearth other syndicates, using official cover to perpetrate evil at not only the Kano airport, but all international airports in the country as well.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the airlines must review the boarding processes to eliminate the possibility of tagging innocent passengers with luggage, containing unlawful items.
We also urge the Federal Government to investigate cases of other Nigerians either standing trial or already convicted for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia and other countries, to ensure that the innocent are not made to suffer for offences not committed.
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With the established innocence of Zainab Aliyu, the Saudi Arabian government must also be more circumspect while handling cases of Nigerians suspected of being drug couriers. Considering that the offence carries death penalty, which is irreversible after being administered, due diligence is required to guarantee that only the genuine offenders get punished.
Passengers travelling through the airports ultimately have the biggest lessons to learn from the Zainab Aliyu saga. They must neither be flippant with their luggage nor accept to assist strangers to convey their belongings. For their safety, it may be helpful if passengers bind their luggage with cellophanes and record them on their phones before handing over to the airline officials.
It should be clear to unscrupulous elements still bent on acquiring wealth through illicit drug trafficking that the Saudi authorities would not relent in the determination to keep their country free of banned drugs and the earlier they cease from treading the destructive path, the better.