Getting Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari to the United States to face trial over alleged complicity in the $1.1million fraud to which Ramon Abbas, alias Hushpuppy has linked him, is not a tea party or an open and shut case, renowned constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said on Monday.
In fact, Ozekhome, a human rights activist, who has been offering his legal opinions on the matter, said the process could take up to six years to complete, citing an example of the late Buruji Kashamu, who until his death last year, was facing an extraneous legal battle to extradite him to the US, where he was supposed to face a drug-related offence.
Like Kashamu, whose case stretched to over six years because of its back and forth nature the senior lawyer, maintained that Kyari’s case could take as much time to resolve one way or the other.
Outlining a similar sequence, the vocal lawyer, said the United States must first make a formal request for the extradition, which if found meritorious, would then be reviewed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), before moving to a judge in Nigeria, who would further review it against the country’s laws before finally sanctioning it, if also found worthy.
A court in California had ordered the arrest of Kyari, after his indictment by the FBI for receiving the proceeds of a scam of a Qatari by Hushpuppi, paid to him to detain one Kelly Vincent Chibuzor, also fingered in the scam to which Abbas has since pleaded guilty before the US court.
But while reviewing the case during his appearance on Arise News on Monday the constitutional lawyer explained that the process was not as easy as people were making it look, as the FBI could not just come to Nigeria to pluck Kyari like that without going through the gamut of the rigorous process.
Stating that extradition was not a new thing in Nigeria, he cited how such a tedious process was followed in bringing back the late Tony Enahoro from the UK to Nigeria to face treason trial in the first republic, even though he agreed that Nigeria and the US share a common extradition treaty.
He said: “When America demanded Abba Kyari, I heard people say FBI can now arrest Abba Kyari. No, you cannot do that. Nigeria is a sovereign country for crying out loud, no matter how down in the doldrums we have become.
“FBI cannot simply come here and pick up Abba Kyari. You must go through the extradition process as established in the Extradition Act of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004. You have to look at Sections 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the extradition act.
“In 1963, Chief Anthony Enahoro was being looked for by the Federal Government of Alhaji Tafawa Balewa. They accused him alongside Obafemi Awolowo and others of committing a treasonable felony. Enahoro found his way to London through Ghana. He ran away.
“So, the Labour Party with their new head, Harold Wilson made it a big deal and using the media very heavily to clamour that Enahoro be not extradited to Nigeria.
“But the government of Harold Mcmillan who was the Minister was caught in between and in betwixt as to the respect for human rights of Anthony Enahoro and not to hurt Nigeria as a political deal. But at the end of the day, Enahoro was extradited to Nigeria and he was tried and jailed for 15 years. It was the Gowon regime that released him and Awolowo and put them in key positions in government so as to drive the country’s progress. So, extradition, therefore, did not start today.
“Going through extradition, the Attorney General of the country has a crucial role to play under the Extradition Act, he and a magistrate, or under Section 251 of the Constitution, a judge of a federal high court.
“The country requesting for extradition, like the US, must make a formal request through its consular or representative in Nigeria, that we want this man in our country.”
Comparing the cases of Kyari with Yoruba rights activist, Sunday Igboho, and the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu he reasoned that while the two others were political in nature and might not fall into extraditable offences, that of the DCP which was anchored on money laundering was extraditable, but would take long to accomplish.
“The case of Abba Kyari falls into the category of extraditable offences. But the American government cannot use the FBI or CIA and come here and pick anybody. The last time we heard that happen and it will not happen again, not in this modern world, I remember, was July 1984 when Alhaji Umaru Dikko was crated and was about to be brought forcefully into Nigeria.”
Century post