A Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a suit filed by the Federal Government seeking the extradition of a suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, to the United States for trial in an alleged internet fraud.
The trial judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, delivered his judgment on Monday. He said the dismissal was due to a pending court case filed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Justice Ekwo submitted that Section 3 of Nigeria’s Extradition Law forbids the country from extraditing a criminal when there is a pending case against them.
Therefore, he dismissed the suit on the grounds of bad faith.
The federal government had sought Kyari’s extradition to the U.S. to answer a case over his alleged link with Ramon Abass, known as Hushpuppi, in a $1.1m fraud committed against a Qatari businessman.
In February 2021, the US District Court for the Central District of California ordered the FBI to arrest Kyari, who denied the allegations in a Facebook post he later deleted.
Through the Office of the AGF, the government had filed the application marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/249/2022.
The suit, titled “Application for the Extradition of Abba Kyari to the U.S.,” was dated March 1 and filed on March 2.
Kyari formerly headed the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT).
Kyari and six others are currently facing a separate trial on allegations bordering on drug trafficking before a sister court presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite.
