Tobias Sylvester
Another Nigerian, Saheed Sobade, could be executed in Saudi Arabia after reportedly being caught with 1,183 grams of cocaine powder in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port city on the Red Sea and gateway for pilgrimages to the Islamic holy cities Mecca and Medina.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa made the revelation on Friday while speaking on Arise Television.
Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa expressed disappointment that this was coming shortly after a Nigerian lady was executed in the same country for a related offense. She said:
“The sad thing is that in the midst of talking of about 20 Nigerians on death roll, even as eight had been executed, just yesterday another Nigerian, Saheed Ayinde Sobade, was arrested at Jeddah airport with about 1.138g of cocaine.
“The latest one would be added to those that could be executed.
”We keep appealing to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure the trial is fair.”
On April 1, Saudi authorities executed Kudirat Afolabi, a Nigerian a widow and mother of two, for drug-related offenses, sparking outrage from the Ministry of Foreign affairs, which said the Saudi authorities did not inform the Nigerian mission in Saudi Arabia of the arrest and prosecution of the executed Nigerian.
Noting that the Saudi government does not spare drug convicts, she warned Nigerians resident in the Asian country to be of good conduct. She also appealed to those back home not to tribalize crime”.
“It’s a sad commentary that at this point in our lives we are tribalising crime,” she lamented.
“Crime is crime. We should not debase the green passport. We should not allow a few bad eggs to spoil the bond. The Dubai thing was all over the place. We saw the faces released to the public; only the eyes were covered and also the names.
“So, there’s no reason why it will not be mentioned. However, for the Saudi incident, the woman that was executed, we had to tell the family first before making an announcement. So after informing the family, the Minister for Foreign affairs issued a statement stating her name, Kudirat Adesola Afolabi, a lady and a mother of two.”
