The Law. |
Following
the execution of one Kudirat Afolabi, a Nigerian woman, by the Saudi Arabian
authorities earlier this month for drug trafficking, reports emerged that eight
Nigerians have already been executed in the Kingdom (probably in this year
alone), while twenty-three others are currently on death row.
The
federal government has come under renewed criticism for allegedly not doing
enough to save Nigerians facing execution in Saudi Arabia, for drug trafficking
and other crimes that attract capital punishment in the Kingdom.
It’s
important to point out that capital punishment for drug trafficking was
introduced in Saudi Arabia in 1986 when the then King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz
Al-Saud wrote to the Hai’at-Kibarul Ulama i.e. Council of Senior Scholars in
the Kingdom under its then Chairman, Sheikh Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baaz,
seeking juristic thoughts on the appropriate judicial punishment for drug
trafficking in view of the extremely destructive impacts of drugs on
individuals and communities, as well as the sheer magnitude of the threat posed
by drug trafficking to the Kingdom’s socio-economic well-being and political
stability.
After
sessions of thorough deliberations in light of relevant Shari’a jurisprudential
principles on the bases of relevant Qur’anic and Sunnatic texts especially the
Qur’anic verse 33 of Suratul-Ma’idah, the Council recommended the introduction
of capital punishment as the appropriate judicial punishment for drug
trafficking, and to serve as a maximum deterrent to other would-be Kingdom-bound
drug traffickers.
By
the way, the Council had obviously deliberated in the context of Ta’azir, a
Shari’a judicial principle that allows eminent Muslim jurists to recommend
punishments they deem appropriate for crimes not specifically addressed in the
Qur’an or authentic Sunnah.
Anyway,
it’s equally important to note that the process leading to the execution of a
convicted drug trafficker in the Kingdom is exhaustive, contrary to what some
people apparently assume. On average, the period between the arrest and
execution of a convicted drug trafficker ranges between a year and a couple of
years of investigations and trials.
A
drug trafficking suspect in the Kingdom is always tried, at first, before a
three-judge open court where he is provided with a translator if he can’t
understand Arabic, and free defence lawyer services. The proceedings are held
in as many court sessions as necessary leading to either his conviction or
immediate acquittal, depending on the prosecution and defence evidence
presented to the court.
Also,
even if found guilty, the case file is automatically transferred to a
five-judge court of appeal where the guilty verdict issued by the first court
will be thoroughly scrutinized to uphold or quash it, depending on the judges’
findings.
Likewise,
even if the court of appeal upholds the verdict, the case file is again
automatically transferred to the five-judge Supreme Court of the Kingdom in
Riyadh where the guilty verdict of the two previous courts will equally be
exhaustively reviewed to uphold or quash, depending on its findings.
Though
the Supreme Court decision is final, yet even if it upholds the guilty verdict,
the case file is still automatically transferred to the King who will be
briefed by his legal advisers before he issues a Royal Decree giving the
go-ahead to carry out the execution. Also, the country of a non-Saudi convict
is always duly informed through its embassy in Riyadh or consulate in Jeddah,
before executing him.
In
short, typically a person convicted of drug trafficking in the Kingdom has been
tried by thirteen judges at three courts of different hierarchical
jurisdictions. A convict is usually only informed of his imminent execution on
the morning of his last day on earth.
I
have witnessed a few public executions in Riyadh and Makkah. A typical public
execution takes place in a mosque yard. Amid tight security, the convict is
brought out from a prison van and led gently into the centre of the yard,
handcuffed, leg-chained and blindfolded. He is made to kneel down. The
executioner examines the convict’s kneeling posture and the balance of his
head, apparently to ensure that he hits the right spot on the back of his neck.
He (executioner) then takes a few steps back, draws his sword out of its sheath,
moves closer to the convict with his glittering bare sword, and cuts off the
convict’s head with one strong and swift strike.
Of
course, the scene is so gory that even some of the policemen around can’t stand
watching; they turn their backs shortly before the execution. Anyway, a
prepared short announcement from a nearby public address van follows giving a
summary of what the executed person had committed and the judicial process that
led to his execution. Afterwards, the body and the head are loaded onto a
mortuary van while a vacuum truck comes in to wash off the blood as the
spectators disperse.
Obviously
with the sheer amount of warnings continuously flowing around that drug
trafficking attracts capital punishment in Saudi Arabia, and that the
punishment is indeed carried out, the insistence of Saudi-bound drug
traffickers to carry on anyway is the height of recklessness.
Now,
while the federal government should improve its anti-drug trafficking measures,
it’s equally important to tackle the crimes being perpetrated by some
particularly callous drug traffickers said to be operating at the Mallam Aminu
Kano International Airport (MAKIA), where they take advantage of some
unsuspecting Saudi-bound Umrah or Hajj travellers to plant drugs in their
luggage hoping they wouldn’t attract exhaustive scrutiny at the Saudi airports
in view of their unassuming appearance and apparent innocence. Though a few
victims have been saved from the Saudi sword, thanks partly to the efforts of
the Nigerian Consulate-General in Jeddah, others are still out there
languishing in the misery of fear and constant uncertainty that he had not
performed diligently in the past 10years though a practising Christian and
worshipper at House on the Rock in Abuja for years.
This
is not just coincidence but a carefully orchestrated plan to embarrass
President Buhari who is not only the leader of the party but of the
country.
This
visit cut down the profile of a state visit by the President, thankfully the day
was saved a little with the presence of Governors of Kebbi, Adamawa, Ekiti,
Ogun even the Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, Asiwaju's cousin could
not join his colleagues obviously complying with instructions.
If
this was not a sneak preview into how Asiwaju Bola Tinubu barely tolerates
President Buhari, then nothing else can show it more as at now. He could not
hide it.
Well
President Buhari has just been served another telling diet in his relationship
with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, it is obvious that in no distant time he will be able
to appraise who truly is in his corner and who is not.
If
President Buhari let's his guard down it may be a costly mistake of a lifetime
in no distant time.
This
is the motive behind the relentless push and desperation behind anointing his
candidates for Senate President and Speaker at the 9th assembly both being
masked and presented as party's choice, in cahoot with Comrade Adams Oshiomole,
an attempt to hoodwink the President.
The
President should watch his back.
Adekunle
Ojuolape writes from Ikeja, Lagos.
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