Maryam Hussaini-Abdullahi, a Nigerian woman remains in Saudi Arabia custody after her name was allegedly linked to a “Ghana Must Go” sack filled with marijuana—a bag her husband insists was planted by Ethiopian Airlines staff and baggage handlers.
Maryam, a mother of young children, was arrested upon arrival in Jeddah on August 7 and was reportedly chained hand and foot while undergoing interrogation by Saudi officials.
Her husband, Abdullahi Baffa, told newsmen that the suspicious bag was fraudulently attached to his wife’s luggage despite glaring discrepancies in the baggage tag numbers.
“The airline confessed that baggage was added to her name. Video evidence even shows the suspect who committed the crime,” Baffa revealed.
“But security agencies asked me not to release the footage yet. The suspects, handlers and Ethiopian Airlines staff, are already with the authorities in Nigeria.”
Baffa, who described the situation as “criminal negligence,” explained that both he and Maryam traveled with just one bag each, only to discover their luggage missing upon arrival in Saudi Arabia.
Despite clear proof that the impounded sack did not correspond to Maryam’s baggage tags, Saudi security detained her at the Rihab Centre in Makkah, where she has reportedly endured days of harsh treatment.
He lamented that their children, left behind in Nigeria, were now stranded without their mother.
Baffa accused Ethiopian Airlines of “unholy conduct” and demanded justice, adding that the Nigerian Government had since stepped into the matter.
When contacted, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd.), Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Head of Media at the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), both said they were not aware of the case as of press time.
