UPDATE - 23 Nigerians convicted for drug offences in Saudi Arabia are alive – FG

The federal government has said that the twenty-three (23) Nigerians convicted for drug offences in Saudi Arabia are still alive. This is against the story making rounds that they have been executed.

Prisoners (vanguard)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spokesperson, Mr Ferdinand Nwonye in a statement on Tuesday said that the government is still in contact with them.

Read the statement below:

The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to recent reports in the media that 23 Nigerians convicted for drug offences in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have been executed. We’ll Engage Countries To Return All Our Stolen Funds – Onyeama(Opens In A New Browser Tab)

The Ministry is in contact with the Nigerian Mission in Saudi Arabia and it has been confirmed that the story is false and should be disregarded.

The Ministry is investigating claims that most of the trials were carried out without adequate legal representation for the accused, in accordance with internationally accepted legal principles. Furthermore the Nigerian Mission was not informed of the arrests and trials.

The Federal Government is therefore engaging the Saudi authorities through diplomatic channels with a view to finding a just solution.

Details later:

SOURCE - Vanguardngr