LAGOS (by telephone): A Saudi national mistakenly deported from the Kingdom has been found in a forest in the Nigerian state of Rangam. Muhammad Noor informed Okaz/Saudi Gazette that his brother Waleed, who was deported by mistake to Nigeria 36 days ago, was found during a search. Nigeria has a population of 150 million people. He said the Saudi Embassy in Nigeria is now working on completing procedures for his return. A field team of the Passports Department in Makkah Region had found Waleed roaming in a Makkah district without any identification papers, so he was held at a Deportation Department center for 21 days before being deported to Nigeria. Waleed is 26 years old and has suffered from schizophrenia since childhood. Okaz published a story on March 9 this year about Muhammad Noor's search for his brother. He had first approached the Deportation Department in Jeddah and was asked to wait until he was contacted. Muhammad Noor said that when he did not receive a satisfactory reply from the Deportation Department he decided to travel to Nigeria to search for Waleed. He then went to the Nigerian Embassy, which provided him with the flight route to Lagos on board Air Maroc. The embassy then sent a copy of the Okaz story and his travel documents to Lagos Airport in case his brother Waleed was still there at the airport.
