The Federal Government has expressed happiness at the acquittal of a Nigerian that was suspected of drug trafficking, Ibrahim Abubakar Ibrahim, by a court in Saudi Arabia.
Ibrahim was sponsored by the government of Zamfara State Government to perform the lesser hajj in 2017 and was set free recently by Saudi authorities after he was acquitted on charges related to drug trafficking.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement issued by its spokesman, Ferdinand Nwoye, that the man was released after diplomatic and legal consultations by the ministry.
He said the Nigerian Consulate-General in Jeddah had finalised processing of travel documents needed by Ibrahim to return to Nigeria.
Ibrahim was apprehended upon his arrival in Jeddah in 2017 and was arraigned by the country’s anti-narcotic agency on a three-count charge related to drug trafficking.
He was freed by the court on the charges but Saudi Arabia’s Prosecutor General ordered that the case be retried.
The presidency waded in the matter and ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to liaise with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate-General in Jeddah for the establishment and upholding of Ibrahim’s innocence.
