Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit instituted by the Federal Government seeking to extradite the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police DCP, Abba Kyari to the United States of America.
Why Justice Inyang dismissed FG's suit: The judge, in a judgment on Monday, August 29, 2022, held that the extradition request filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, on behalf of the Federal Government lacked merit and is liable to dismissal.
Justice Ekwo, however, held that the Federal Government has no basis to file the extradition request having put Abba Kyari on trial in Nigeria in relation to the allegations against him in America.
What happened: The Federal Government filed the extradition charges against Kyari to pave way for his extradition to America to answer fraud allegations.
Why Abba Kyari was facing extradition: An internet fraudster, Abass Ramon, aka Hushpuppi, had in America implicated Kyari in a $1.1million wire fraud prompting the American government to request for the extradition of Kyari to explain his own side of the story.
USA demands for Abba Kyari from Nigeria: In April 2021, a jury in America filed an indictment against Kyari with the approval of the US District Court and demanded that Kyari should stand trial for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft.
Consequently, the American embassy requested for Kyari’s extradition saying, “on April 29, 2021, based on the indictment filed by the Grand Jury and with the approval of the United States District Court for the Central District of California, a Deputy Clerk of the court issued a warrant of arrest for Kyari.
“Kyari is the subject of an indictment in case number 2:21-cr-00203 (also referred to as 2:21-mj-00760 and 2:21-cr-00203-rgk), filed April 29, 2021, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California.”
Why Nigeria is not on Abba Kyari's side: AGF Abubakar Malami, while filing the charge, said that the request for the surrender of Kyari was not made to persecute or punish him on account of his race, religion, nationality or political opinions but in good faith and the interest of justice.
What you should know: The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had also arrested Kyari on February 12 for investigation over allegations bordering on hard drug trafficking and had since been charged to court upon his indictment.
