A former Nigerian Senator, Hassan Barata of Adamawa South senatorial zone has been reportedly detained in Saudi Arabia for giving the Saudi authorities false information.
Barata was said to have claimed to be an official of the Nigerian Embassy in Saudi Arabia and he presented an official passport to back up his claim.
However, the Saudi authorities decided to investigate the claims and found it to be untrue, which informed their decision to detain the senator.
Observers hinted that Sen. Barata most likely overstayed his visa in the country.
Barata, a former Chairman of Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, generated controversy back home in Nigeria this year when he decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress and returned to the PDP after his failure to secure the APC’s governorship ticket in his state.
It will be recalled that the Federal Government this month issued a directive to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to retrieve diplomatic and official passports from all former government officials.