Amnesty International Nigeria has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene in the case of Sulaimon Olufemi, a Nigerian national who has remained on death row in Saudi Arabia for more than two decades despite developments that could end his ordeal.
In an open letter signed by the Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Mr. Isa Sanusi, the human rights organisation expressed deep concern over Olufemi’s continued detention at Al-Shumaisi Prison, Jeddah, long after the conditions under Saudi law for commuting his sentence were reportedly met.
Olufemi, now 47, was arrested on September 29, 2002, following a mass roundup of foreign nationals after the killing of a police officer in Jeddah. He was sentenced to death in May 2005 after a closed trial. Amnesty International said he was denied legal representation, consular access and adequate interpretation throughout his detention and trial.
The organisation noted that while many of those arrested were given short prison terms and deported, twelve Nigerian nationals, including Olufemi, were sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and 1,000 lashes. One of the men reportedly died in custody due to lack of medical care, while the remaining eleven were deported to Nigeria in 2017 after completing their sentences.
Amnesty International further alleged that Olufemi and others were subjected to torture and ill-treatment during interrogation and were forced to thumbprint a statement written in Arabic, a language they could not understand. The statement was reportedly treated as a confession by the trial court.
According to the group, the family of the deceased police officer agreed around 2020 to accept diyya (blood money) in lieu of the death penalty, as provided under Sharia law, after the officer’s youngest child turned 18. The compensation was reportedly set at SAR 2 million, equivalent to about ₦800 million, and was fully paid on July 4, 2024.
However, Amnesty International said that more than a year later, Olufemi remains on death row without legal representation, and his family has received no official information on the status of his case or a timeline for the quashing of his sentence.
The organisation urged President Tinubu to take immediate steps to clarify Olufemi’s legal status, ensure he is provided with a lawyer and intensify diplomatic engagement with Saudi authorities to secure the revocation of his death sentence.
Amnesty International said the case underscores the need for stronger consular protection for Nigerians abroad, adding that after more than 20 years on death row, Olufemi and his family deserve relief from what it described as a prolonged and harrowing ordeal.
