Zainab Aliyu, a Nigerian who was
detained in Saudi Arabia for alleged drug trafficking, says she learnt “pure
Arabic” and memorised half of the Qur’an during her 124-day stay in prison.
Aliyu was arrested on December 26
after tramadol, a drug prohibited in Saudi Arabia was found in her bag.
The 22-year-old student of the
Maitama Sule University, Kano, had travelled to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj
alongside her mother and sister.
She, was, however, arrested by
Saudi authorities over allegations that the bag bearing her name tag contained
tramadol.
In an interview with Daily Trust,
she narrated her experience in detention, how she found it hard to trust people
and eventually got close to an Ethiopian lady simply identified as Rehisty.
She explained that she suffered
communication gap with Rehisty whom she said understands little English while
she (Aliyu), knew just a bit of Arabic.
“I met several people. But I can
assure you, it took me some days before I could trust some of the inmates.
That’s because after realizing that I was actually framed, I couldn’t bring
myself to trust anyone. I did not trust anybody there, even among my roommates.
The only person that I can say I trusted, is one Ethiopian lady with whom I was
brought in,” Aliyu said.
“Yes, but only the Ethiopian lady
I mentioned earlier, called Rehisty. When we were brought there, together, we
found it difficult to communicate, because she could only understand a little
English, and I understand only a little Arabic. So, it took us some time before
we started communicating, in Arabic, which I picked up while in detention.
“I learnt pure Arabic. I also
joined Tahfiuz school, and Alhamdulillah, I was able to memorize half of the Holy
Qur’an during my stay in the prison. I also learnt how to live with people from
different backgrounds.
Narrating her ordeal from when
she was picked up in her hotel room till when she was released, Aliyu said it
took about a week for her to come to terms that she was in prison.
She, however, said she and the
other inmates were well taken care of, adding that she experienced no form of
harassment or intimidation.
“I spent almost one week without
knowing that I was in a prison, because I did not commit any offence,” she
said.
“They treated us like human
beings. Nobody humiliated or harassed anyone in there. And I spent 124 days
there.”
Aliyu thanked the federal
government and everyone who worked towards securing her release.
She cautioned that she is not on
social media, raising the alarm that some people have opened social media
accounts in her name.
“I thank President Muhammadu
Buhari, Madam Abike Dabiri, and the Minister of Justice, Justice Malami, and
all others who in one way or the other contributed to my release,” she said.
“I am also calling on some people
who have created Instagram and Twitter handles, and even a Facebook account in
my name, to please stop, because it is not good to deceive people. Honestly, I
am not on social media, so the general public should take note.”
Aliyu was released from prison in
April and returned to Nigeria on May 13.
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Alihadulilahi,you could been dead if not that there is certain destiny Allah want you to fulfill in life.Life is full of lesson even though you learnt in rough way.You just have to thank God.
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