Rasheed Abayomi Mustapha |
A Federal High Court in
Lagos has ordered that a Nigerian, Rasheed Mustapha, be extradited to
the United States of America for allegedly stealing $798,907.62
(N125.3m) in that country. The verdict came after a lot of drama between the EFCC and Mustapha, who through his counsel, Joseph Nwabike, fought the extradition order.
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Some of the
charges against Mustapha in the USA include, “Conspiracy to violate the
laws of the United States, in violation of Title 18, United States
code, Section 1349, namely mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty
of five years' imprisonment. Mail fraud, in violation of Title 18,
United States Code, Section 1341 and Title 18, United States Code,
Section 2.”
The letter had added that each count was punishable by a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.In her
ruling, Justice Patricia Ajoku dismissed the preliminary objections,
stating that based on the Nigerian constitution, the court was competent
to decide the extradition of the accused person. She
subsequently said the accused person should be extradited to the US to
face the charges. Ajoku also faulted the accused person's argument that
the offences were not known to the Nigerian laws.
EFFC Acting Head of Media, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said from the commission's investigation, Mustapha and his collaborators conspired to steal $798,907.62 in distribution cheques.He said, “Of that amount, $750,651.48 was actually issued and deposited into bank
accounts controlled by members of the syndicate. The sum of $500,000
was withdrawn and distributed between Mustapha and his group.
“Mustapha,
37, had returned to Nigeria after allegedly committing the crime in the
United States. However, collaboration between the EFCC and the FBI led
to his arrest by the operatives of the EFCC in May last year.”
Source: The Punch
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