Festus Ogun, a legal practitioner, says the drug case
against Abba Kyari may affect his extradition to the United States as demanded
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The FBI is prosecuting Ramon Abbas a.k.a. Hushpuppi for
charges bordering on business email compromise (BEC) and money laundering.
In August 2021, the agency asked Nigeria to hand the
suspended police officer over to respond to allegations against him.
On Monday, Kyari and others were arrested by the National
Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged links with an international
narcotics cartel.
The ex-Police IRT commander is accused of helping a
Brazil-Ethopia-Nigeria ring to compromise the probe of 25 kilogram of cocaine
seized by the NDLEA.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ogun, a human rights activist,
quoted Section 3(6) of the Extradition Act of 1966 to buttress his view.
It stated that a fugitive criminal serving a sentence in
Nigeria, shall not be surrendered until when discharged whether by acquittal or
expiration of sentence.
The lawyer said any extradition application made against
Kyari could be rejected if the NDLEA decides to charge him with an offence
other than that of the FBI.
“While it is desirable that the NDLEA gets to the root of
this drug cartel matter involving Abba Kyari by ensuring that those found
wanting after thorough investigation are charged, such an action will only
succeed in hindering and frustrating his extradition.
“The law remains that no individual can be successfully
extradited from Nigeria to any other country if a criminal proceeding,
different from the fugitive’s extradition’s crime, is pending in a Nigerian
court.”
Ogun noted that Nigeria’s Attorney-General could play a huge
role in ensuring that substantial justice is done in both matters.
“Even where the NDLEA goes ahead to prosecute Kyari for his
drug related crimes, the Attorney-General has enormous powers under Section
174(1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution to discontinue to give way for his
extradition proceedings”, he added.
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