Leadership (Abuja)
Iyobosa Uwugiaren
10 June 2008
Abuja — A Nigerian, Master Suleiman Olafemi, aged 28, risks being executed by the Saudi Arabian government.
According to a news alert by Amnesty International, Mr. Olafemi was reportedly sentenced to death in May 2005 in connection with the murder of a police officer in Jeddah in 2002.
"He was one of the 13 Nigerians arrested and charged in connection with the murder," the human rights group said.
Questioning the legal process which led to the conviction of Olafemi, the respected international human rights organisation said his "trial was conducted in Arabic, a language he does not understand.
"Suleiman Olafemi had no access to legal representation or consular assistance and reportedly was not provided with adequate translation. The death penalty is applied in Saudi Arabia for a wide range of offences, including same which have no lethal consequences."
Execution in Saudi Arabia is by beheading, that is carried out in public.
Calling on Saudi Arabian authorities to commute his sentence, the group advised the Nigerian government to step into the matter urgently and protect Nigerian nationals on death row, in line with its "citizen diplomacy."
"According to the Saudi Arabian Human Rights Commission, the death sentence against Suleiman Olafemi has been upheld by the Court of Cassation and ratified by the Supreme Judicial Council and could be executed at any time," Amnesty international stated.
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