Ayodele Olalere
A Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, Zarephath AID, an International Criminal Justice Group, has called on Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa who is also the Chairman, Nigerians In Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, as a matter of urgency to wade into moves by ‘state forces’ in South Africa to ‘execute’ a Nigerian, Abdul Olatunji, residing in the country.
In a Save Our Souls, SOS message sent to the commission,by the founder of the organisation, Ben Abraham, said if the Nigerian government does not do anything about it, Abdul ‘will die any moment from now.’
Ben said Abdul who hails from Osun State has been in South Africa since 2009, and has employed and assisted hundreds of Nigerians in their businesses as well as students and Nigerian tourists.
He was also the founder of Hydro Club, a hospitality firm that has won awards as the biggest hospitality outfit in South Africa, based in Revonia Santon, Johannesburg.
Narrating the genesis of Abdul’s problem , Ben said he was ‘maliciously and viciously arrested and clamped into police custody.’
“In 2019, because of his rising profile and competitive edge commonly seen in Nigerian business people in the diaspora, the xenophobic South African business competitors, allied with rogue state security and police agents and judiciary officials, hatched a sadistic program tagged ‘#DestroyAbdul’, which from video and audio recordings we were privileged to obtain is a wicked plan to eliminate Abdul
for the sole reason that he is Nigerian and he dared to dream,” he said.
He added that Abdul was arrested for an offence he did not commit, clamped into police custody for almost a year and was refused administrative bail by the police.
After some time, Ben said Abdul was eventually charged with theft, ‘a completely false, trumped up and nebulous allegation.’
“He was arraigned at the Magistrate court in Palm Ridge Court, Johannesburg presided over by Magistrate Emmanuel Magamkpa. The court refused him bail in furtherance of the ganged up plan by the State. Based on his goodwill and contacts which he had garnered over the years, he got more than 10 lawyers to defend him as constitutionally required but each of the lawyers recused themselves citing strong interference and threat above,” Ben added.
He further said accusing fingers have been pointed at one Captain Oscar Williams Mopedi (now Colonel), the prosecutor, as the man allegedly behind ‘grand plan to eliminate Abdul .’
Ben said a co-accused defendant, one Siphoshiole who was charged with Abdul was granted bail and later released after a plea bargain agreement, adding that a video made by Sithole confirmed that ‘Abdul was innocent of the entire charge but a victim of a grand plan.’
He further said prosecuting lawyers made attempts to make Abdul accept a plea bargain agreement and plead guilty and get a 5-year sentence which he accepted.
However, rather than the five years, Abdul was sentenced to 15-years imprisonment on July 8, 2022 and after appealing the sentence on November 5, 2024, no lawyer was willing to represent him.
He expressed fears that Abdul, who has been in prison since 2022 could be poisoned and as a result is wary of eating prison food and is now traumatized and physically emaciated.
He called on the Nigerians and the federal government to come to the aid of Abdul adding that since the Court of Appeal in South Africa has ordered a retrial, it has opened a window of opportunity for the Nigerian government to offer legal service to Abdul.
“We still remain the giant of Africa and we should indeed throw our weight in this very sad case. He is deserving of our intervention,’ he said.
Abdul’s brother, Sesan, said the case has caused apprehension for the family and resulted in the death of their mother who fell sick on the day she heard her son had been arrested by the South African government.
He said the South African citizens have always been after Nigerians saying his brother owned the biggest club in South Africa.
Sesan appealed to the federal government to come to his brother’s aid.
