Gbenro Adesina
The family of Sulaimon Olufemi, a Nigerian on death row for 18 years in Saudi Arabia over a mob killing of a Police officer, has appealed to the Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa to rescue their son from being killed by the the Saudi Arabian government.
The family made this appeal on Wednesday December 30, 2020, when they paid a visit to the Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, seeking for mercy from the Saudi government to free their son allegedly involved in the murder of a slain police officer.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Bode Olufemi, the younger brother of Suleiman, the family appealed for clemency and forgiveness from Saudi Arabia government.
However, it was gathered that except the daughter of the slain officer, who was two years old when her father was killed and is now twenty years old decide to pardon Olufemi, he is not likely to avoid execution.
Some members of the diaspora community in Saudi are currently engaging the family of the slain police officer so as to ensure that Olufemi is pardoned and freed from being executed.
Hon. Tolulope Akande Sadipe from Oyo State, representing Oluyole Federal Constituency in the National Assembly and Chairman House Committee on Diaspora is also said to be making frantic efforts to secure Olufemi’s release.
Shedding light on the incident described as unfortunate, Dabiri-Erewa said, “The family of Suleiman Obafemi, who has been on death row in Saudi for 18years , visited NIDCOM 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.
Pointing out that out of 11 suspects allegedly involved in the crime, Suleimon, who has been sentenced to death is the only one yet to be freed.
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 Reps 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 , would allow himself to be dragged into a mob action that involved many people.
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 Tolulope Sadipe-Akande 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”.
The NIDCOM boss assured the family that the Commission would work with other government agencies to facilitate the return of Sulaimon Olufemi to his family.
Suliamon, 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, Suliamon 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 Suliamon 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 and when authorities came to raid the location, and Suliamon 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 commuted to lashes.
Both the 80 years old Yavimaku Olufemi, the father of Sulaimon 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 would see him before they die.
