Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa has denied media report alleging she accused some foreign airlines of running drug cartels in Nigeria.
The headline which reads “Egypt, Ethiopian Airlines Running Drug Cartels in Nigeria is a figment of the Reporter’s imagination”, she said in a statement in Abuja on Thursday by her Media Aide, Abdur-Rahman Balogun.
The statement added that “the headline is totally incorrect and not a true reflection of what she said during the Senate committee public hearing chaired by Senator Kabiru Gaya on Wednesday.
“Dabiri-Erewa had during the hearing stressed the need for those two airlines to ensure compulsory baggage identification as all cases recorded on issue of drugs had been from both airlines.
“Luckily enough, the representative of Ethiopian Air, who was at the public hearing, promised that baggage identification would be strengthened.
“The Senate public hearing was geared towards probing the circumstances surrounding the framing up and eventual arrest of Zainab Aliyu in Saudi Arabia over allegation of carrying tramadol drug in her baggage.
“Members of the public are hereby urged to discountenance previous publication that is contrary to this clarification.”