Photo: Nigerian former senator arrested in Saudi Arabia

Senator Hassan Barata was arrested by Saudi Arabian authorities after he
was found travelling with a revoked diplomatic passport and claiming to be
an employee of the Nigerian Embassy. Barata was a former chairman of
the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism. He represented the Adamawa
South Senatorial District between 2011 and 2015 as a PDP lawmaker. He
defected to APC last february but returned to the PDP after losing the
APC governorship ticket bid.
According to The Nation, Senator Barata, who is in Saudi Arabia to
observe the hajj pilgrimage, claimed to be an employee of the Nigerian
embassy there after being arrested; a claim that was found to be false.
The Federal Government has earlier directed the Nigerian Immigration
Service (NIS) to retrieve diplomatic and official passports from
unauthorized holders.