Hushpuppi: US Speaks On Rejection Of Abba Kyari’s Extradition

The United States Government has reacted to the rejection of the application by the Nigerian Government seeking permission to extradite the detained Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari, to the United States of America.

In a short statement on Monday, the US Department of Justice said as a matter of policy, it would not comment on the case until Kyari is successfully extradited.

The spokesperson, US Department of Justice’s Senior Communications Advisor for International Law Enforcement, Nicole Oxman, made this known in a email to The PUNCH.

Oxman wrote, “As a matter of policy, the US Department of Justice generally does not comment on extradition-related matters until a defendant is in the United States.”

Naija News reports that the government had asked the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to okay Kyari’s extradition to face trial over his alleged involvement with a notorious internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi.

In a judgement on Monday, Justice Inyang Ekwo ruled that the extradition application filed by the government through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice was “incompetent and bereft of merit.”

According to the judge, the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, ought to be aware that the Extradition Act, forbade the surrendering of a defendant that is already facing trial before a competent court in the country.

He said the law was clear that Kyari, having been docked before a court of competent jurisdiction in the country, “shall not be surrendered until the such case has been discharged either by his conviction or acquittal.”

Consequently, the court held that the extradition request was incompetent and deserved to be dismissed.