UK-based Nigerian lady shares how she got arrested for saying ‘drugs’ instead of ‘medications’

• A lady shared her experience of visiting a pharmacy to collect medication for her ailing husband on a popular TikTok video.

• During a phone conversation, she used the term “drugs” to refer to medication, unaware that bystanders misinterpreted her words.

• Law enforcement officers arrived and arrested her, requesting information about the location of the “drugs.”

A Nigerian lady living in the United Kingdom has recounted a shocking incident in which she was arrested and held due to a misunderstanding related to her use of the term “drugs” instead of “medications.”

In a widely shared TikTok video, she described her visit to a pharmacy to pick up medication for her sick husband. During a phone call with him, she innocently referred to the medication as “drugs,” unaware that those nearby were misinterpreting her statement.

Shortly thereafter, police officers arrived and took her into custody, asking about the whereabouts of the “drugs.” Although she attempted to clarify that she was referring to medications, her explanation was initially met with doubt.

She was then taken to a police station, where she was detained and questioned. Authorities even searched her home before eventually releasing her. The woman humorously attributed her experience to her use of “Nigerian English.”

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.”

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