Saudi Arabia ambassador to Nigeria dies in sleep

Adnan Bostaji, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Nigeria, is dead.

His death was announced in a statement issued by the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Nigeria on Tuesday.

The statement said the envoy died in his sleep. He was reportedly confirmed dead at a Turkish hospital in Abuja.

“With the deepest sense of sadness and complete submission to the Will of Allah, the Royal Embassy announces the passing away of his Excellency, the Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Nigeria, Mr Adnan Mahmoud Bostaji,” the statement read.

Bostaji received his bachelor’s degree in social sciences in 1985 from King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah.

He obtained a higher diploma in diplomatic studies in 1988 from the Diplomatic Studies Institute in Riyadh.

Bostaji started his career at the Saudi ministry of foreign affairs. He was appointed deputy to the ambassador at the Saudi embassy in Tehran from 1991 till 1998.

From 1998 to 2000, he worked at the administration of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the ministry of foreign affairs.

In 2000, he was appointed as chargé d’affaires at the Saudi embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark. He occupied the position until 2003.

He then worked as head of economic affairs and international organisations at the Saudi embassy in London from 2003 until 2005. He also joined the office of the ministry of foreign affairs in Makkah as director from 2003 to 2016.

Before his appointment as a Saudi ambassador to Nigeria, he served as deputy to the ambassador at the Saudi embassy in Berlin in 2016.