Senator Denies Reported Arrest By Saudi Authorities; Says He Has No Business Being In Saudi Arabia

A former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, Sen. Hassan Barata, has denied his reported arrest in Saudi Arabia.

Barata in a telephone interview on Sunday, fingered his political opponents for the report, stressing that he has not been out of Nigeria for some time now.

The former senator stated that he did not have any business in Saudi Arabia that could make him overstay there, noting that the report of his alleged arrest and detention was false.

Media reports had claimed that Barata was arrested in Saudi Arabia for overstaying and for claiming to be an embassy worker, but the former senator told our correspondent that he did not travel to the Islamic kingdom and as such, was not arrested or detained.

He further explained that he did not possess a diplomatic passport as reported, stressing that he has not travelled out of the country since he completed his tenure in the 7th Senate in June, 2015.

Barata pointed out that the allegation against him must have been cooked up by his detractors who also alleged that he had defected to the Peoples Democratic Party.

He said, 

“The allegation must have been fabricated by my political detractors who also alleged that I detected from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party.
“Aside the fact that I am still a member of the APC, the question is, what has the Saudi issue got to do with politics? This shows that the allegation was fabricated by detractors; it is all lies because I am not in detention in Saudi Arabia and I have not defected from the APC.”