Tragedy as Saudi Arabia kills another Nigerian for drug trafficking

macfranc007 February 09, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Nurudeen Lawal

- Saudi Arabia has executed a Nigerian, Idris Abubakar, who allegedly engaged in drug deals

- The killing of Abubakar has reportedly reduced the number of Nigerian drug suspects who are being detained in Medina Prison in Saudi Arabia from 15 to 13

- The Nigerian embassy in Riyadh said it was embarrassed by Saudi Arabia’s decision, despite its plea to spare the lives of the Nigerian drug suspects

Saudi Arabia has executed one Nigerian for drug-related offences after a failed attempt by the Nigerian government to intervene in the reported drug deals undertaken by Nigerians in the country.

A source that spoke with Vanguard confirmed that the suspect, identified as Adam Idris Abubakar, was killed by the authorities on Tuesday, February 6, reportedly bringing the number of Nigerian drug detainees so far executed in the last four months to four.

Vanguard further reports that two other drug suspects were killed last November.

The Nigerian Embassy in Riyadh, which had reportedly been informed of the latest execution, said it was embarrassed by the action of the Middle East country, having begun discussions with them to spare the lives of the suspects.

NAIJ.com gathered that the killing of Abubakar has reduced the number of Nigerian drug suspects to 13 out of the 15 who are being detained in Medina Prison in Saudi Arabia.

The minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, had earlier given the assurance that the Nigerian government had begun discussions with the foreign country to save the lives of the embattled Nigerians.

Onyeama was quoted as saying: “We have made very strong intercessions with the government of those countries to review the cases and of course, not to execute those prisoners. But there is a limit, these are sovereign countries and they have processes and laws.

“As far as Saudi Arabia is concerned, it has been ongoing, we have been intervening at various levels with the Saudi government to spare the lives of those citizens and a number of NGOs have been working with us in order to get those Nigerian citizens off the death row,” the minister added.

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NAIJ.com previously reported that the federal government said it would continue to engage Saudi Arabian authorities in negotiations over the fate of Nigerians on death row for alleged drug trafficking in that country.

The minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, made this known while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja.

The minister’s reaction followed a report that there were no fewer than 25 Nigerian drug suspects held in several prisons in Saudi Arabia.

The report indicated that 15 of the suspects were on death row, while three had been executed, leading to a call on the federal government to intervene.

Ex-prisoner turns advocate for release of former inmates on NAIJ.com TV.