Nigerian govt sends charges against Adoke to Dubai, wants him extradited

A former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, may be extradited to the country anytime soon, as the Federal Government has forwarded charges against him to authorities in the United Arab Emirates where he is being detained.

This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) in an interview with Punch, adding that the former minister will remain in custody on the strength of the documents sent.

He said: “The charges against him have been forwarded to Dubai. The authorities of the UAE will then determine that there are serious charges against him and then trigger the implementation of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty which would see him being brought to Nigeria for trial with or without extradition proceedings. The charges will ensure that he is held pending the appropriate steps being made to ensure his extradition.”

It would be recalled that Adoke was arrested last week by INTERPOL in Dubai, in connection with the ongoing investigation into Malabu Oil Block (OPL 245).

His arrest is coming on the heels of charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and a warrant of arrest obtained by the agency from a Federal High Court against him.

Another court however cancelled the arrest warrant following Adoke’s lawyer’s application.

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The court, presided over by Justice D.Z Senchi declared the warrant of arrest null and void and of no effect whatsoever on October 25, 2019.

Reports however have it that the nullification of the warrant of arrest was not communicated to INTERPOL.

On the nullification of the arrest order and why the Federal Government did not communicate it to INTERPOL, Sagay said he would not want to talk about it.

“I heard about the matter (quashing of the arrest order) but I don’t want to comment on it. This is why we in PACAC are saying that the judiciary should be brought in and properly be informed and educated about the war against corruption.

“This is a time that the judiciary should avoid technicalities and dwell on the substance of the matter. If I were sitting at the court what I would ask myself is, ‘does this man have a case to answer?’ If that is the case, whether he has been served or not are mere technicalities”, he said.

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