Saudi Arabia "deservedly executes" drug trafficking Nigerian woman – Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Nigeria

Adnan Bostaji, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Nigeria has revealed that  a Nigerian woman, Kudirat Afolabi, who was arrested for drug related offences, has been deservedly executed. Ambassador Bostaji said this when he visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday to explain the position of Saudi Arabia Kingdom over the punishment.

According to him, the death sentence deservedly meted out on the Nigerian woman was in accordance with the Sharia law. He said, “ Drug trafficking was not permitted in the Saudi Kingdom.

He further stated that Nigeria and his country enjoyed cordial diplomatic relations, but that the law against drug trafficking applied to everyone in the Kingdom irrespective of their nationality, as even Saudi citizens were not exempted.

He said, “Saudi Arabia is following Sharia law and anyone who violates the law by bringing drugs into Saudi Arabia will be punished by the law.

“This is because we want to save our society from drugs. So, if we don’t impose our Sharia law on these guilty people we may not save our society. The law is for all people in Saudi Arabia and not only for Saudi citizens,” he explained.

The Saudi Ambassador said that no one could feign ignorance of the law as all visitors to the Kingdom were made to sign an undertaking not to bring drugs to the country before obtaining a Saudi visa, while expressing dismay over the failure of visitors to obey the law, saying that despite the strict penalties, people brought hard drugs to his country.

In his response, the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Isah Dodo, lamented the “notoriety of Nigerians and nationals of other countries in bringing drugs to Saudi,” stressing that the menace had been going on for long.

He said the law against drugs was clear, and that anyone who violated it would be executed as nobody could stop the Saudi Government.

“So all we can tell our people is to stop taking drugs to Saudi Arabia or to other countries where the punishment is execution. Nigerians have seen many people executed in Saudi Arabia and this is sufficient to serve as a deterrent to them but they have remained adamant and continued to commit this crime,” he said.

Recall that, the Federal Government through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mustapha Suleiman, condemned the execution of the widow and mother of two, saying the treatment meted out on her was wrong.

Suleiman said that while Nigeria respected the sovereignty of other countries and abhorred the violation of their domestic laws, the Federal Government would not condone the inhumane treatment meted on the Nigerian national, Punch reports.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has condemned in the strongest terms, the execution of a Nigerian national, Mrs Kudirat Adesola Afolabi, widow and mother of two, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for drug related offences.

The Government also frowned at the Saudi authorities for not informing the Nigerian missions in Saudi Arabia of the arrest and prosecution of the deceased Nigerian, only