The extradition request for Abba Kyari to be turned over to the United States of America to face fraud charges was denied by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, said Abubakar Malami is responsible for the failure of extradition proceedings, who is the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
According to the request on April 29, 2021, a deputy clerk of the court issued a warrant of arrest for Kyari based on the accusation filed by the grand jury with the permission of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
The American government is looking for Mr Kyari, and a deputy police commissioner suspended due to fraud allegations against him at the Central District of California’s U.S. District Court. U.S. prosecutors accused him of participating in a $1.1 million global fraud that Abbas Ramon, also known as Hushpuppi, oversaw.
Hushpuppi is a former Instagram star from Nigeria. He will be sentenced in September after admitting his involvement in the scam and other criminal charges. American authorities requested Mr Kyari’s extradition earlier this year to face charges brought against him in the U.S. the previous year.
Nureni Jimoh, the lawyer of Mr Kyari, asked the judge to reject the extradition request because Mr Kyari had not committed any crime that would have directed the Nigerian government to turn him over to the U.S.
The defence attorney explained in the two letters submitted to the court that Mr Kyari’s strike force had already set up an ambush for a sting operation. Pius Akuta, the lawyer for the federal government, urged the court to dismiss Mr Kyari’s claims in his close arguments. According to him, Kyari’s ongoing prosecution for drug trafficking could not prevent the court from approving his extradition.
Mr Akuta explained that the AGF might wait until Mr Kyari’s trial in Nigeria was over before giving him to the U.S. authorities.
