Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Federal Government not to extradite embattled police officer, DCP Abba Kyari to the United States.
The judge stopped the extradition move in a ruling delivered on Monday, describing the application as “incompetent and bereft of merit”.
The Federal Government through the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami SAN had sought the court’s permission to extradite Kyari to the US to face trial over his alleged involvement with convicted internet fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Hushpuppi.
Justice Ekwo held that as the Chief Law Officer of the nation, the AGF ought to know that the application contravened the Extradition Act which prohibits the extradition of an accused person already being tried before a competent court in Nigeria.
The judge said he could not fathom why the AGF issued the necessary fiat for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to prosecute Kyari on drug-related charges and turn around to seek his extradition to the US while the case was ongoing.
“The AGF could not say that he was not aware of the pending proceeding against the defendant which was entered against him by the NDLEA,” Justice Ekwo noted.
He said DCP Kyari could only be surrendered for extradition after the NDLEA’s case had been concluded “either by his conviction or acquittal”.