Family Of Suleimon On Death Row In Saudi Arabia Appeal For Clemency
The family of Suleimon Olufemi, a Nigerian, who
has been on death row in Saudi Arabia for 18 years, have appealed for
clemency and forgiveness for their son from the Saudi Arabian
authorities.
Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) office in Lagos through Mr Bode Olufemi,
the younger brother of Suleiman.
The delegation which included the aged parents of Suleiman ,as well as
his siblings and Sister-In-Law, among others, couldn’t control their
tears , as they pleaded passionately for the life of their Son.
Suleimon, who went for a lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia in 2002, was
accused alongside others of being part of a mob action that killed a
Police officer in the kingdom 18 years ago.
According to Saudi Arabian law, the daughter of the late officer who was
two years old at the time of the incident , and is now above 18, will
determine if Suleimon should live or die.
Receiving the delegation, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, NIDCOM,
described the incident as unfortunate as out of 11 suspects, all freed ,
only Suleimon was sentenced to death.
She informed the worried delegation that the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, NIDCOM, the Nigerian Mission in Saudi Arabia, some members of
the Diaspora community in Saudi , Amnesty International as well as the
House of Representatives committee on Diaspora have all intervened in
the matter.
Dabiri-Erewa reiterated her advise to Nigerian youths to avoid getting
into trouble when they travelled out, wondered why a young , promising
man who went for Umrah , will allow himself to be dragged into a mob
action that involved many people.
The NIDCOM boss assured the family that the Commission will work with
other Government agencies to facilitate the return of Suleimon Olufemi
to his family.
Mr Suleimon Olufemi, an Electrician, was born in Lagos on 20 April 1978
and embarked on Umrah to Saudi Arabia in 2002.
On arrival at the airport in Jeddah, Suleimon called his friend, who he
was scheduled to stay with in Jeddah, but the phone number was not going
through, so he went to a place called Karantina where he met some
Nigerians when he could not locate his friend .
Some days after Suleimon arrived in Saudi Arabia, he followed the
Nigerians that offered him accommodation to a car wash in the Bab Sharif
area of Jeddah, where many African nationals
worked as car cleaners but unfortunately, that day, there was a mob
action which resulted in the death of a police officer, authorities came
to raid the location, and Suleimon Olufemi and other 12 Nigerian
Nationals were among those arrested.
He was sentenced to death in May 2005 following a closed trial which
took place in the absence of legal or consular representation or
adequate interpretation and translation facilities.
The 12 other men, which were initially sentenced to five and seven years
imprisonment respectively were later commutted to prison terms and
lashes.
Both the 80 years old Yavimaku Olufemi, the father of Suleimon and
mother, Kikelomo, appealed to the Saudi authority to tamper justice
with mercy and release their son while begging Nigerian government to
help them out as they are eager and prayerful that they will set eyes on
their son and hope to reunite with him before they die