Saudi Arabian authorities have detained a Nigerian woman from Kano, Maryam Hussaini-Abdullahi, after a bag allegedly containing marijuana was linked to her by Ethiopian Airlines during her trip for the lesser Hajj.
Mrs. Abdullahi departed Nigeria on August 6, 2025, with her husband, Abdullahi Baffa, through Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, each carrying only one piece of luggage. However, upon arrival in Jeddah on August 7 via Addis Ababa, their luggage could not be traced.
According to Mr. Baffa, the airline acknowledged the missing bags, provided a complaint form, and assured them that the items would be found within 48 hours. Left without clothes or personal effects, the couple proceeded to Madinah, where they bought new essentials.
Eight days later, Baffa said he received a call that one of the missing bags had been located in Jeddah, but he declined collection and asked that it be returned to Nigeria. Matters escalated when the couple returned to Jeddah to board their flight back to Nigeria on Thursday.
“At the airport, my passport was cleared, but my wife’s was flagged. Immigration officials informed us she could not travel and referred us to the Rihab Centre in Makkah,” Baffa told Daily Nigerian.
Accompanied by officials from the Nigerian Consulate in Madinah, the couple later visited the Saudi investigation office in Makkah, where Mrs. Abdullahi was accused of being linked to a “Ghana must go” sack containing suspicious items.
Baffa explained that although the bag bore his wife’s name and even her photograph, the tag number did not correspond with those issued to them by Ethiopian Airlines. Despite this discrepancy, Saudi authorities insisted on detaining her pending further investigations.
“When I visited her in detention, she showed me the strange bag, which contained wrapped items we had never seen before. My wife is completely innocent,” Baffa stressed, accusing Ethiopian Airlines of criminal negligence.
He further alleged that the airline privately admitted that the bag’s contents were not incriminating and that the matter would soon be resolved but urged him not to escalate the issue. “If that is true, why is my wife still in detention?” he asked, appealing to the Nigerian government to intervene urgently.
Meanwhile, an Ethiopian Airlines source confirmed that an internal investigation had commenced, explaining that the process would take time due to the involvement of multiple airports.
The Nigerian Consul General in Jeddah, Muazam Nayaya, also confirmed that the consulate was aware of the case and had opened an inquiry. “We have commenced investigations and will soon forward a report to our headquarters,” he stated.
This incident mirrors a similar case in December 2018 when Zainab Aliyu Kila, a Nigerian student, was arrested in Saudi Arabia after airport officials linked her name to a drug-laden bag planted by a criminal syndicate. After months of diplomatic efforts, she was exonerated and released in April 2019.
