A
73-year old Nigerian woman, held for suspected involvement in drug peddling by
Brazilian authorities has died in a hospital in that Country.
Mrs. Hafsat Awosade, a grandmother, was
reportedly held early last year by Brazillian security authorities with illicit
drugs. She died last week.
The Chairman of the House of
Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Abike
Dabiri-Erewa(ACN-Lagos), who announced this at a press briefing yesterday,
regretted that Mrs. Awosade died before she was found guilty of allegations of
drug dealing.
“The very unfortunate thing is that this
woman was yet to be found guilty of the charges levelled against her by the
Brazilian authorities”.
According to the lawmaker, “It is a sad
story. She died of high-blood pressure. It is even more tragic that she had
already pleaded that she should not die in Brazil, but unfortunately she has
died in a foreign country”.
Dabiri-Erewa however warned that ” there
are lessons to be learnt from the tragedy”
She adviced other Nigerians who may likely
fall into the same trap that “whether you know or you don’t know, it is not
good to engage in illegal activities in Foreign Countries.
Her Deputy, Hon. Betty Appiafi(PDP-Rivers),
said “The Committee had made several efforts while in Brazil and within the
country to get the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene”, but added that it
was unfortunate that the intervention came late.
The Committee had earlier in the year led a
delegation to Brazil to investigate the allegations of illicit drug
peddling against Mrs. Awosade, who until her death insisted that she went
to Brazil for medical attention. The Committee had also looked into the cases
of several other Nigerians still awaiting trial in the South American country.