Amnesty International Nigeria and Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) have expressed worry over the spate of travelers being victimized at Nigerian Airports over allegation of drug trafficking.
The Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, at the just concluded one-day stakeholders awareness initiative to end luggage tag swapping for drug trafficking at Nigerian Airports in collaboration with Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in Abuja, lamented over the rampant cases of planting drugs and swapping of tags on baggage of travellers at some airports.
He said, such incidents have put many innocent lives on death row especially in Saudi Arabia.
He said some cartels are victimizing illegal travelers and using the airports as a heaven for their crimes.
He called on Nigerian government to address this problem, enhance care for security, make sure that all drugs cartels and those behind them are punished according to the rule of law.
“What we are talking about is the connection between drugs,crimes and human rights abuses and violations. People get their bad luggages swapped and they end up being prosecuted.
“The Nigerian government must do more about drugs. The security agencies are doing their best. They are always ahead of the criminals. But we want them to also know that the criminals are moving faster,” he said.
Also, Executive Director of CITAD, Dr. Y. Z. Ya’u represented by the Administrative and Research Assistant at CITAD, Buhari Abba, said acording to credible reports, including that of Amnesty International, over 13 insurance are facing execution in Saudi Arabia for drug-related offenses.
He said yet, many of them are victims of network of drug attacks operating within our airports, exploiting congestion in the sense of first-time travelers, security lapses, and desperation of corrupt insiders.
“The engagement today is not just a program, it is a court of science, it is a demand for accountability, and behind every planted drugs lies a bed of an innocent traveler whose life could be unjustly destroyed.
“Together, we must demonstrate our compliance with mortgage handling and passenger protection by our aviation agencies, call on the ministers of justice and foreign affairs to ensure a fair trial and impartial protection for endurance pacing, capital punishment abroad.
“There is need to strengthen the role of airlines, aviation, handlers, and security agencies is a balance of dignity, a ride of travelers, and we give citizens the knowledge and the awareness to protect themselves from this hidden but deadly threat,” he said.
