Nigerian lady narrates how she  was arrested in UK for saying ‘drugs’ instead of ‘medications’

Abdullateef Fowewe

A Nigerian lady living in the United Kingdom has recounted her shocking experience of how her poor grammar led to her detention in police custody.

The lady claimed she had gone to the pharmacy to get medications for her indisposed husband when an innocent remark during a phone conversation led to her unexpected arrest.

In a now viral video, she explained how she had used the word “drugs” instead of “medications” while speaking to her husband via a phone call.

According to her, people in the pharmacy had misinterpreted her choice of words, leading to the police arrival moments later.

Recounting the incident via a video on her TikTok handle, she said, “I got arrested yesterday, last night, and got detained. Now, I am going home. Story time. So, yesterday, I went to the pharmacy to get some drugs for my husband.

“Then, when I got it finish, I was on call to say, ‘Ah, I got the drugs, I got two drugs for you. So, when I get home, when you use it, you are going to be strong.’

“Ok. Not knowing people closer to me were like, ‘drugs, drugs, drugs,’ but I wasn’t bothered ’cause I felt I didn’t do anything wrong. Before I knew it, the police came. When they came, they were like, ‘where are the drugs.’

“And I said what drugs? This (displaying the medications she got) was literally what I was referring to as drugs, because I went to get this for my husband because he wasn’t feeling well. I told them ‘oh drugs, I meant this. Then they said ‘medication’, I said ‘Yes’. They didn’t believe me anyways.

“They took me to the police station. They detained me. They asked me questions.

“They didn’t release me until they had searched my house. This Nigerian English is not just putting me into trouble, but in big mess.”