There are indications
that President Muhammadu Buhari may have ordered a “thorough” probe into the
circumstances that led to the arrest of 3 Nigerian pilgrims, who were alleged
to have trafficked cocaine to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The probe, it
was gathered, emerged on a day the Federal Government in a bid to “redeem” its
image begun an enhanced screening of pilgrims to the holy land, following the
arrest of the three.
It was
reported that three pilgrims from Kawara State were arrested for drug
trafficking by the Saudi authorities and the Presidency has issued a threat to
punish some agencies for negligence.
An impeccable
source at the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who confided in New
Telegraph, stated that the “embarrassment” caused the President as a result of
the arrest had contributed in making the president ‘sad’, hence the probe of
the agency to unravel circumstances which led to the arrest of the Nigerians in
foreign land.
The source,
who pleaded not to be mentioned, said the president “is hugely embarrassed and
as such felt those who allowed the unholy incident leave the shore of the
nation’s borders must be made to explain what happened.”
The source,
who also hinted that a woman pilgrim was among those arrested, noted that the
president also felt that “travelling standards” were compromised by the NDLEA
officials, which negated the Federal Government’s stance on corruption.
To underscore
this fact, the source stated that: “The president is very angry because he
believed that standards were compromised.
In fact, the
Federal Government is already considering a total overhaul and restructuring of
the NDLEA.
“In the past,
for instance, the culture had been that any pilgrim travelling is allowed to
come in with his relatives and luggage.
But since this
occurred, relatives are not allowed again including helping their relatives who
are going on the pilgrimage.
This is a
sharp contrast and a departure of the past. Here every pilgrim carries his or
her luggage and awaits officials to screen them individually.”
Federal
government has commenced full scale investigation to unravel how the drug was
not detected by the Nigerian security operatives at the Hajj camps across the
nation.
There were
indications that heads are likely to roll over the incident as a high powered
investigative team had been set up to determine if there was a compromise or
just security laxity.
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