Skip to main content

Don’t Take Drugs, Kola Nuts To Saudi Arabia Says Abike Dabiri-Erewa

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has charged intending Muslim pilgrims on the need to stay on the side of the law.





Dabiri-Erewa warned yet to depart for 2016 Hajj exercise to resist any temptation to take hard drugs to Saudi Arabia, reminding them that it attracts death penalty. The Saudi Arabian authorities have asked Nigerian pilgrims not to bring kola nuts during the 2016 Hajj.

More than 70,000 Nigerian pilgrims are expected to perform 2016 Hajj. Since the beginning of transportation of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in Aug. 15, more than five Nigerians have been arrested for alleged possession of substance suspected to be hard drugs as well as kola nuts.

The presidential aide in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, said that despite repeated warnings and workshops for intending pilgrims, it is disheartening that some Nigerians still ran foul of Saudi Arabia authorities’ law.

She reminded the pilgrims that some Nigerians caught with hard drugs in the last few years are still currently on death row in Saudi Arabia, pleading with pilgrims to shun the shameful act.
Dabiri-Erewa also reminded the pilgrims that kola nuts and prescription painkillers in large quantities have been banned in Saudi Arabia, and if found, attracts severe penalties according to new Saudi Arabia regulations.

She said the Federal government through the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and various state boards has made adequate arrangements to attend to the medical needs of the pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Similarly, she said the Saudi authorities have free medical centres in all the nooks and crannies of the Kingdom equipped with all drugs for their medical needs.
She urged the security agencies and other para-military stationed at the various departure centres in Nigeria to screen the pilgrims before their departure to Saudi Arabia.

“All those who intend to perform Hajj are therefore advised to adhere strictly to the Saudi rules and regulations on prohibited items,” NAHCON said in a statement.

The Nigerian Hajj commission also urged Muslim Pilgrim Welfare Boards (MPWB) and licensed tour operators to properly educate pilgrims to avoid penal actions on those found in violation of the instruction on smuggling kola nut. Violators will be punished in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom.

This caffeine-based edible seed, the kola nut, is usually known as “Goro” and “oji” and often used ceremonially by Nigerians to show a gesture of friendship and warmth; it is also used in the production of beverage and energy drinks.

Dabiri-Erewa advised Nigerian pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the country by portraying Nigeria in good image and pray for peace, unity and progress of the country in the Holy land.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Security Alert; Bart Ransomware Bypasses Corporate Firewalls

A new ransomware variant has emerged that’s similar to widespread threats such as Dridex 220 and Locky Affid=3, but uses a security-evading technique that may allow it to attack organisations protected from other malware, according to computer security researchers. Ransomware has spread quickly in the last few months, as a number of payouts have attracted cyber-criminals to the technique.
Post a Comment
Read more

Floods Leave Many Dead in Southern Ghana

Four days of heavy and steady rain has left at least 10 people dead in the south of Ghana. The streets of Accra have been left under water after the torrential downpours caused widespread flooding earlier this week. The nation's capital was hit bit 185mm of rain on Sunday, which is more than they would expect for the entire month of June. This is the wettest month of the year with an average rainfall of 178mm. Since the weekend a further 50mm of rain has fallen exacerbating the severe problems already faced. President John Dramani Mahama has surveyed the areas concerned. He was reported to have driven through several neighbourhoods on a motorcycle. Heavy downpours were also recorded 150km to the west of Accra in the Central Regional capital, Cape Coast where 10 people died in floods,  Sandy Amartey, regional coordinator of the National Disaster Management organisation, told AFP. "In all we have 10 to 12 who lost their lives during this rainy season." The rain...
Post a Comment
Read more

EC Slaps Apple With £11bn Irish Tax Bill

The European Commission (EC), as expected, has ordered the Irish government to recover up to €13 billion (£11bn) plus interest in “illegal tax benefits”. An investigation found Apple had been able to avoid taxation on almost all profits generated in the EU single market thanks to a structure which routed revenues through two “paper” headquarters in Ireland and minimal tax rates in the country. The EC says Apple only paid an effective corporate tax rate that fell from one percent in 2003 to 0.005 percent in 2014 – a rate which other companies in Ireland were not subjected to. This effectively amounted to state aid, the commission said. Apple tax amazon“Member States cannot give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state aid rules,” said Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is in charge of competition policy. “The Commission’s investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than ...
Post a Comment
Read more