A United States (US) court has fixed October 11, 2022 to hear the case against suspended Nigerian super cop Abba Kyari.
He was suspended over his alleged involvement in a $1.1 million fraud coordinated by Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi.
The US District Court for the Central District of California fixed the case for hearing after a joint request by the prosecution and other defendants in the matter.
It is still not clear whether Kyari will be extradited, following the controversy that has trailed the case filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking his extradition.
Court Fixes Abba Kyari’s Extradition Suit For April 27
Ruling on March 29, 2022, the judge, Otis Wright, agreed that not granting the parties’ request could “deny the defence counsel the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation, taking into account the exercise of due diligence.”
He also said it “would unreasonably deny defendant continuity of counsel” and could make “proceeding impossible or result in a miscarriage of justice” if the court rejected the postponement request.
The judge, therefore, postponed the trial from May 17, 2022 to October 11, 2022.
“Defendants shall appear in Courtroom 5D of the Federal Courthouse, 350 W. 1st Street, Los Angeles, California on October 11, 2022, at 9:00 a.m.,” the judge ordered in the ruling, a copy of which PREMIUM TIMES obtained on Friday.
This is the second time the court will adjourn the trial.
The court originally fixed October 12, 2021 to hear the case but based on the parties’ request, the court had shifted the trial to May 17, 2022, and, in the latest ruling, to October 11, 2022.
The three co-defendants who joined the prosecution to call for the postponement are all US-based.
The co-defendants – Rukayat Fashola (aka Morayo), Bolatito Agbabiaka (aka Bolamide) and Yusuf Anifowoshe (aka AJ and Alvin Johnson) – have been released from custody on bail ahead of trial.
The rest of the defendants -Kyari, Abdulrahman Juma, and Kelly Chibuzo Vincent – are outside the US and “remain at large”, the American prosecuting authorities have said.
The prosecution planned to conclude the trial within six days even with Kyari and two of the defendants still at large.
In justifying the application for postponement of the trial in their joint application last year, the applicants said the US government had already handed to the defence approximately 2.31 GB of data comprising 2,707 electronic files.
They added that the prosecutors were processing approximately 6,773 pages of additional discovery expected to be produced for the trial.