Two Nigerian pilgrims have been arrested in
Saudi Arabia for allegedly being in possession
of banned drugs.
The pilgrims were among the thousands
currently undergoing the hajj operation in
Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia and
comprise a male and female.
The two pilgrims could face death penalty for
carrying banned drugs. In Saudi Arabia, the
punishment for carrying banned drugs is
death when convicted by the laws of the
land.
P.M.NEWS gathered from a source currently
undergoing the hajj operation in Saudi
Arabia that the two pilgrims were from Lagos
State, but the Lagos State Government said
the pilgrims were from Kwara and Ekiti
states. The banned drugs were said to be
hidden in garri. This has made the Saudi
authorities to ban carrying of foodstuff to the
holy land by Nigerian pilgrims.
The Nigerian female was said to have been
nabbed by vigilant Saudi security operatives
at the King Abdullaziz International Airport
on Thursday for being in possession of
banned drugs. The other culprit was
reported to have been arrested on Sunday
after being found with substance suspected
to be cocaine.
The names of the pilgrims could not be
ascertained by our source as at press time. It
was gathered that the pilgrims, if found
guilty according to Saudi law, would be
executed.
Chairman, Lagos Hajj Ad-hoc Committee,
Alhaji Abdullateef Abdulhakeem, confirmed
that two pilgrims were arrested by the Saudi
Authorities but denied that the arrested
pilgrims were from Lagos, saying they were
from Kwara and Ekiti States.
As a result of the development, the Lagos
State Government has barred the remaining
pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia from carrying
foodstuffs.
Over 3, 000 Lagos pilgrims have so far been
airlifted to Saudi Arabia out of the 3,885
pilgrims from the state, while airlifting of the
pilgrims may be concluded this week.
The Lagos State Government has vowed to
deal with any pilgrim who misbehaved in
Saudi Arabia during next month’s hajj. To
ensure hitch-free hajj, the Lagos State
Government said it had set up a special
taskforce made up of officials of the Rapid
Response Squad, RRS, Chief Security Officer,
CSO of the state and Governor’s Monitoring
Team officials, among others to monitor
Lagos pilgrims in Saudi Arabia and deal with
erring ones.
Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Alhaji
Oyinlomo Danmole said government would not
tolerate any form of indiscipline from any Lagos
pilgrim.
“Any pilgrim who misbehaves will be dealt with.
We also have a tribunal in place to try erring
pilgrims in Saudi Arabia,” he said, adding that
during the last hajj, a pilgrim who misbehaved
was prosecuted after the hajj in Lagos.”
Chairman, Hajj Ad-hoc Committee, Abdulhakeem
said government had adequately prepared to
ensure hitch-free hajj as it had organised seminar
to enlighten the intending pilgrims on the basic
rules of hajj. “We have engaged the services of a
separate airline to convey our pilgrims to Saudi
Arabia. We will not be using the same airline with
other pilgrims in the Southwest. We have also
decided not to keep our pilgrims longer in Saudi
Arabia after the hajj.
