Buhari angry with NDLEA over Muslim Pilgrims’ Cocaine Saga

There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari may have ordered a “thorough” probe into the circumstances that led to the arrest of 3 Nigerian pilgrims, who were alleged to have trafficked cocaine to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The probe, it was gathered, emerged on a day the Federal Government in a bid to “redeem” its image begun an enhanced screening of pilgrims to the holy land, following the arrest of the three.

It was reported that three pilgrims from Kawara State were arrested for drug trafficking by the Saudi authorities and the Presidency has issued a threat to punish some agencies for negligence.

An impeccable source at the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who confided in New Telegraph, stated that the “embarrassment” caused the President as a result of the arrest had contributed in making the president 'sad', hence the probe of the agency to unravel circumstances which led to the arrest of the Nigerians in foreign land.

The source, who pleaded not to be mentioned, said the president “is hugely embarrassed and as such felt those who allowed the unholy incident leave the shore of the nation’s borders must be made to explain what happened.”

The source, who also hinted that a woman pilgrim was among those arrested, noted that the president also felt that “travelling standards” were compromised by the NDLEA officials, which negated the Federal Government’s stance on corruption.

To underscore this fact, the source stated that: “The president is very angry because he believed that standards were compromised. In fact, the Federal Government is already considering a total overhaul and restructuring of the NDLEA.

"In the past, for instance, the culture had been that any pilgrim travelling is allowed to come in with his relatives and luggage. But since this occurred, relatives are not allowed again including helping their relatives who are going on the pilgrimage.

This is a sharp contrast and a departure of the past. Here every pilgrim carries his or her luggage and awaits officials to screen them individually.”

Federal government has commenced full scale investigation to unravel how the drug was not detected by the Nigerian security operatives at the Hajj camps across the nation.

There were indications that heads are likely to roll over the incident as a high powered investigative team had been set up to determine if there was a compromise or just security laxity.