Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, accused the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); of subtle conspiracy to frustrate the extradition of embattled Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, to the United States.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, said it was a known fact that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation had requested that Kyari be tried in America for his role in an alleged Internet fraud involving notorious scammer, Ramon Abbas, a.k.a Ray Hushpuppi.
The group said the office of the AGF allowed the extradition of Kyari to linger so much till after nearly a year before it announced this week that the Federal Government was willing to extradite Kyari to the United States.
However, a few hours later, the media revealed that the NDLEA had since February filed an eight-count charge against Kyari before a Federal High Court on Monday and that the DCP would be arraigned on March, 7.
Recall that Kyari has been in NDLEA custody since February, 14 for attempting to sell 25kgs of cocaine that was seized from some drug dealers. The NDLEA had also accused him of being a drug kingpin.
However, reacting, HURIWAs Onwubiko, while quoting several laws, said, The AGF and some political forces must be on a conspiratorial mission, because as long as Kyari is facing charges in Nigeria, he cannot be extradited to the US, based on the Extradition Treaty between Nigeria and the United States.
So, it is either that the government is taking Nigerians for a ride, by muddying up the extradition application so that their sacred cow does not go to the USA to face charges of 419 alongside Hushpuppi or the Justice Minister needs to explain why his office did not ask the NDLEA not to file charges so the extradition application goes first and is successfully obtained; because as it is, the accused person cant be extradited since he now has an advantage of the provision of the extradition treaty not to be extradited.
The AGF must remedy his administrative or intentional error to rely on section 174 of the Constitution on Nolle prosequi to terminate the charges filed by NDLEA so the extradition procedure in the Federal High Court wont be sabotaged. He must do this fast, it stated.
