My Arrest, Moves To Extradite Me To U.S. Are To Punish Me Because Of My Achievements, National Honours — Abba Kyari
Abba Kyari, the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, has asserted that his current predicament has ‘political overtones.’
Kyari urged the Federal High Court in Abuja not to approve his extradition to the United States to face trial over alleged involvement in a $1.1 million fraud orchestrated by Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, in a counter-affidavit testified to by his younger brother, Mohammed.
The suspended police chief said in new court documents that preparations to extradite him to the United States for trial were intended to punish him, particularly for his role in combating criminal groups while on active duty.
According to Vanguard, Kyari argued that all of the claims leveled against him are not extraditable offenses.
“I know as a fact that the specified offences are of a political character and were, in fact, made for the purpose of prosecuting and punishing the respondent on account of his race, nationality and was (sic) not made in good faith nor in the interest of justice,” the deponent averred.
Kyari told the court that he is a highly decorated senior police officer who was already carrying out a “sting investigation” on Ramon Olorunwa Abbas or Abdulraman Imraan Juma, otherwise known as Hushpuppi, before he was framed up and arrested.
“A copy of the letter written by the respondent to the Interpol on January 28, 2020 and to the Inspector General of Police on March 3, 2020 in respect of the sting investigation being carried out by the respondent are herewith attached as Exhibit 1a and 1b respectively. This was five months before the arrest of Ramon Abbas and others by the FBI.
“The request for the extradition is not supported by any document or verifiable evidence. The request is directed to undermine the crackdown on various crime gangs by the respondent in Nigeria and internationally and has political undertone.
“The request is for purposes of persecuting or punishing the respondent on account of his defence for the country.
“The respondent is confronted with series of charges to break him down because of his achievements and various national honours. A copy of the charge framed against the Respondent by the NDLEA is herewith attached as Exhibit 2.
“The offences are trumped up and the Respondent is seriously committed to defending himself.”
However, the Nigerian Government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, in its own affidavit deposed to by one Bello Abubakar Sholadoye, said it had sufficient evidence to warrant Kyari’s extradition to the US for trial.
It told the court that the office of the AGF “was in receipt of extradition request vide a diplomatic channel for the extradition of the Respondent fugitive wanted to stand trial in the USA.
“That the AGF is satisfied that there is no bar to the extradition application,” it said.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the matter till Friday to enable the prosecution’s lawyer, Pius Akutah, to respond to Kyari’s preliminary objection against his planned extradition.
The court said it would take both the objection and the substantive suit together.
While he was on suspension over his indictment for fraud by the U.S. government last year, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) arrested him in February, and subsequently charged him and six others, including four members of his former police unit, with illegal dealing in cocaine.
Both the criminal trial on narcotic offences and extradition hearing are taking place separately before two judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
