Following the arrest and subsequent conviction of a Nigerian, Suleimon Olufemi, in 2002, for allegedly being part of a mob action that led to the deat
Following the arrest and subsequent conviction of a Nigerian, Suleimon Olufemi, in 2002, for allegedly being part of a mob action that led to the death of a Saudi police officer, authorities have picked the 20-year-old daughter of the slain officer to choose if Olufemi dies or stays alive.
The police officer died following a brawl between locals and foreign nationals at Bab Sharif area of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on September 28, 2002, and Olufemi who was allegedly wrongly accused has been incarcerated for the past 18 years.
Olufemi, 42, had travelled to the kingdom on an Umrah (lesser hajj) visa in September 2002 and on arrival at Jeddah, he could not reach his friend whom he had scheduled to stay with. However, a lady at the airport suggested he went to Karantina, a suburb of Jeddah, where he would find lots of Nigerians who might help him locate his friend, HumAngle reports.
When he could not find his friend, some Nigerians he met at the suburb of Jeddah offered him their place to stay.
Days later, he was said to have followed them to a car wash in the Bab Sharif area of Jeddah, where many African nationals worked as car cleaners and a tragedy that landed Olfemi in this mess occurred.
A mob action between some gun-wielding locals and foreigners broke out, ultimately leading to the death of the police officer.
There was a mass arrest a day after the brawl and Olufemi and 12 other Nigerians were arrested from their apartment.
While other foreigners arrested in connection with the crime were given short sentences and deported, he and the 12 other Nigerians were put tried for the murder of the police.
Olufemi was tortured and forced to append fingerprints on a statement written in Arabic which was later interpreted in court to mean that he hit and killed the police officer with a gun, a report by Amnesty International revealed.
The other 12 Nigerians who were also interrogated had their sentences increased at intervals. They were handed an initial prison term of five years in May 2005, then seven years in November 2005 in a closed court; then 10 years in 2006 and further increased to 15 years prison terms with 1000 lashes.
However, Obafemi was sentenced to death.
While one of the 12 men, Nurudeen Sani, died in prison the 11 others were deported to Nigeria in 2017 after completing their 15-year prison sentence with lashes.
Will Olufemi live to walk free?
Whether Olufemi lives or dies lies in the decision of the then two-year-old daughter of the slain police officer who has now turned 20. This is because in Saudi Arabia’s Sharia law, if a crime is punished under the rule of retribution, relatives of the murder victim have the right to decide if the offender should be executed or pardoned.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) who spoke when the 80-year-old Yavimaku Olufemi, father of Suleiman and mother, Kikelomo, visited the commission’s Lagos office, said they are appealing to the Saudi government to free their son and the ultimate decision lies with the 20-year-old daughter of the slain officer.
The NiDCOM boss wrote on Twitter Wednesday evening, “The family of Suleiman Obafemi, who has been on death row in Saudi for 18years, visited @nidcom_gov Lagos office today to plead for clemency for him. Suleman was sentenced to death 18 years ago accused of being part of a mob action that killed a Saudi Police Officer.
“Whether he lives or dies now will be determined by the slain officer’s daughter who was 2 years old then, but now 20, and will decide to forgive or not.
“Minister Onyeama, the Nigerian mission in Saudi, as well as some members of the diaspora community in Saudi and @ToluSadipe, have been on the case.”
“11 people arrested, all released, only him on death row. If only he hadn’t been encouraged to be part of the mob.
“But we will do all we can, if only for the sake of the aged parents and family who wept uncontrollably today.”
