Ndlea: Viral photos not the Nigerians issued by the Saudi authorities – Thage

By Ayo Kehinde

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said that the photographs that were spread in the media since those of the three Nigerian pilgrims recently released by the Saudi authorities were not authentic.

Femi Babafemi, spokesman for the agency, said that following reports on the release of the three innocent Nigerian pilgrims by the Saudi authorities, some media had published unrelated images and presented them as those of the victims.

“To avoid doubt, the images currently in circulation are not those of the three Nigerians who have been detained in Jeddah. In line with the standards accepted global on the protection of human rights, the privacy and the dignity of the victims of these accidents, the agency has deliberately transformed by the publication or by the release of their photographs at any phase of its public communication on the subject”, he said.

Babafemi explained that the Agency’s decision was taken to abstain from releasing their photographs to protect pilgrims from undue public exposure and to allow them to reintegrate themselves into society without stigma.

While underlining that the Ndlea evaluated the role of the media as a vital partner in the dissemination of information and in public lighting, Babafemi urged all the news platforms to desist from the use of images that could misrepresent the facts or compromise the dignity of innocent people.

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