A Nigerian national, Suliamon Olufemi, originally from Badagry, Lagos, remains on death row in Saudi Arabia over two decades after a fatal incident that claimed the life of a Saudi police officer. Born on 20 April 1978, Suliamon traveled to Saudi Arabia in September 2002 on an Umrah visa. Upon arrival at Jeddah airport, he contacted a friend with whom he was scheduled to stay.
On 28 September 2002, Suliamon reportedly accompanied Nigerians who offered him accommodation to a car wash in the Bab Sharif area of Jeddah, a location frequented by African nationals working as car cleaners. During the day, a confrontation broke out between the local men, including a police officer, and foreign nationals, resulting in the officer being injured and later dying. Authorities carried out mass arrests the following day, 29 September 2002, including that of Suliamon Olufemi, who was later put on trial for the officer’s death.
Reports received by Amnesty International indicate that Suliamon was allegedly tortured during interrogation to compel him to sign statements in Arabic, a language he could not read or understand. Under duress, he reportedly placed his fingerprints on a statement that he later learned in court alleged he had struck the police officer with a gun.
Suliamon was sentenced to death in May 2005 following a closed trial where he lacked legal representation, consular support, and adequate translation facilities. Under Saudi Arabia’s Shari’a law, crimes punished by qisas (retribution) allow the victim’s family to decide whether the offender should be executed or pardoned, sometimes in exchange for diya (compensation or “blood money”).
While the family of the deceased officer demanded and received diya in July 2024, and other co-defendants were subsequently released, Suliamon remains in detention.
Amnesty International has called on the Saudi government to release Suliamon, while urging Nigerian authorities to intervene to alleviate the suffering endured by Suliamon and his family.
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