The Indian government has approached an Abuja High Court seeking an order compelling the Federal Government of Nigeria to extradite two of its nationals whom it has accused of financial crimes but are living large in Africa’s biggest economy.
After failed diplomatic efforts to have the Nigerian government extradite the Indian brothers, Nitin and Chetan Sandesara, who own Sterling Energy and Exploration Production Ltd in Nigeria, the country is seeking a court order to extradite them and seize their Nigerian assets.
When contacted, Vipul Mesariya, spokesman of the Indian high commission in Nigeria, said: “It is sub judice. The matter is in court. We cannot comment on it.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has accused the tycoons of absconding after defrauding public banks of more than $1.7 billion. They were declared Fugitive Economic Offenders.
A Fugitive Economic Offender is a legal term in India. It relates to any individual against whom a warrant for arrest in relation to a “scheduled offence” has been issued by any Indian court under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act. It applies to individuals who either left India to avoid criminal prosecution or, being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution.
However, under Nigerian law, extradition isn’t often a straightforward process. It gets complicated when the subject has been accused of a crime in Nigeria.
Last year, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja rejected an application by the Federal Government seeking the extradition of Abba Kyari, the suspended deputy commissioner of police, accused of fraud and money laundering in the United States.
In dismissing the application, Justice Inyang Ekwo said “the application is in breach of Section 3(f) of the Extradition Act, and by that Act, it is incompetent.”
Credit: The Nigeria Lawyer