Court rejects Abba Kyari’s extradition suit to the US
An Abuja Federal High court has dismissed a suit by the Federal Government seeking to extradite suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP Abba Kyari to the United State to face trial on allegations of his involvement in internet fraud alongside popular Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abass also known as Hushpuppi.
Justice Inyang Ekwo in his judgment said the dismissal of the case was due to another court case filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
On what judicial premise was the case rejected?
Justice Ekwo in his ruling asserted that the case was brought in bad faith as it contravenes the provisions of Section 3(6A) which forbids the court to extradite a criminal when there is a pending case against the person, adding that the suit is incompetent, bereft of merit and ought to be dismissed.
“The procession of the law in Section 3 subsection 6A of the Extradition Act is that a fugitive criminal who has been charged with an offence under the laws of Nigeria or any part thereof, and has gone through an offence which he has surrendered himself shall not be surrendered until such time he has been discharged, whether by acquittal or the expiration of the sentence or otherwise” the judgment reads in part.
What does this judgment mean for Abba Kyari?
Kyari who is currently standing a separate trial alongside six others on allegations of drug trafficking, was in February 2021, ordered by a US District Court to be arrested by the FBI over his link with Huspuppi in a $1.1million fraud committed against a Qatari businessman. The dismissal of the Extradition Suit by the Federal Government means that he is most likely going to evade trial in the United States.
