But for the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, an innocent Nigerian lady, Zainab Aliyu, could have been rotting in a Saudi jail or, worse still, executed for alleged drug trafficking.
In December 2018, she had visited the Middle Eastern nation to perform the lesser Hajj alongside her mother and sister.
However, she ended up spending four months in a Saudi prison following the discovery of illegal drugs in a bag tagged in her name on her arrival in the country. The drug was found to be tramadol.
The Federal Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Mission in Saudi Arabia put up a spirited effort to prove Aliyu’s innocence.
The drugs were discovered to have been stashed in her bag by a local gang in Saudi Arabia and charges against her were dropped.
Aliyu was at the time a 22-year-old student of Maitama Sule University in Kano.
She has now completed the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Programme.
The Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, shared the good news on Twitter on Thursday.
She tweeted:
💃🏿💃🏿💃🏿👏🏼Remember Zainab Aliyu, wrongly jailed in Saudi for carrying drugs she had no knowledge of , and rescued with the intervention of @MBuhari ? She just completed her NYSC. We wish Zainab the best as she moves on to great success in life @Hajarahhh 🙏🏿🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/GTBWWZjH9S
— Abike Dabiri-Erewa (@abikedabiri) July 16, 2020
The young lady thanked the presidential aide for the message.
Read Also: Ex-Presidential Spokesman Adeniyi Apologises To Abdulsalami, TY Danjuma, Magu Over Incorrect Claims