US Justice Department Says
Former Nigerian Minister
Obanikoro Could Face
Extradition From US

A United States legal scholar and an
official of the US Department of Justice
(DOJ) have provided answers suggesting
that Nigeria could successfully request
the extradition of Nigeria’s former
Minister of State for Defense, Musiliu
Obanikoro, who is currently resident in the
US.

The responses from Rutgers law professor,
Roger Clark, and DOJ spokesman, Peter Carr,
came in response to inquiries by
SaharaReporters into Mr. Obanikoro’s legal
status with regard to US extradition laws. Both
experts’ responses revealed that Mr. Obanikoro
is susceptible to extradition should the Nigerian
government follow appropriate legal procedures
to request for it.

Mr. Obanikoro was again propelled into public
attention on Tuesday when agents of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) searched several properties belonging to
him and his family. SaharaReporters confirmed
that EFCC agents went into Mr. Obanikoro’s
posh Ikoyi estate in Lagos State and seized
expensive wristwatches, vehicles, and other
valuable items .

SaharaReporters first broke the news of Mr.
Obanikoro’s involvement in the infamous
Ekitigate scandal—detailing how the former
minister anchored the rigging the 2014
governorship election in Ekiti State in favor of
Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP). Mr. Obanikoro, who was as one of the
masterminds of the plot, was caught on a
leaked audio recording inducing Brigadier
General Aliyu Momoh with the promise of
promotion and cash once the officer helped
deliver the state for the PDP candidate.
It was later learned that the cash Mr. Obanikoro
used to bankroll Ekitigate, which included
bribing polling officers, the military, and other
political leaders, came from then National
Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki. Mr.
Dasuki, it is now known, illegally diverted
security funds to the tune of at least $2.1 billion
during his tenure at the Office of the National
Security Adviser. Some of the stolen funds went
to Mr. Obanikoro and other PDP henchmen for
the purpose of rigging elections for the party.
Mr. Obanikoro fled Nigeria in 2015 shortly after
the inauguration of President Muhammadu
Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Since leaving Nigeria, Mr. Obanikoro has been
spotted in several places in the United States.
Recently, SaharaReporters obtained graduation
photos of Mr. Obanikoro, who had completed a
graduate degree in history at Oglethorpe
University in Georgia.

Musliu Obanikoro receiving a degree from
Oglethorpe University, Georgia in 2016
Questions have been raised as to whether Mr.
Obanikoro is eligible for extradition from the
United States owing to speculation that he holds
American citizenship. A SaharaReporters
investigation, published in 2007 , included the
data page of Mr. Obanikoro’s US passport
issued on June 16th, 1995.
The name on the passport carries obvious
similarities to the name Mr. Obanikoro uses
today. At that time, the former minister was
going by the name Muhammed Musiliu Olatunde
Onikoro. The 2007 SaharaReporters
investigation noted that Mr. Obanikoro’s election
forms for Lagos State governor used the name
Mohammed Musiliu Olatunde Onikoro.

Further, a SaharaReporters inquiry confirmed
that Mr. Obanikoro worked at the Little Flower
Children Service in Brooklyn, New York under his
passport name, Olatunde Onikoro, in the 1980s.
According to Mr. Obanikoro’s biography on his
former campaign website , he also worked in
Houston, Texas in the Adult Probation
Department following his studies at Texas
Southern University.

SaharaReporters contacted an international legal
expert, Roger Clark , to seek legal clarification on
United States laws as they pertain to the
extradition of people who, like Mr. Obanikoro,
hold American citizenship. Mr. Clark is an expert
on international criminal law and a professor at
Rutgers University School of Law in the United
States.
Asked whether the United States government
would extradite an American citizen to a foreign
country where they had allegedly committed a
crime, Mr. Clark stated that “the United States
has no problem extraditing its nationals provided
there is a treaty.”
Mr. Clark added that some countries in Western
Europe are reluctant to extradite their own
citizens, but added that “common law countries”
do not usually have a problem assuming legal
processes are followed.
According to Mr. Clark, common law countries
including Nigeria will often fall under the same
treaty that outlines reciprocal and mutually
agreed on rules for extraditing their nationals.
The legal expert pointed out that the treaty was
signed into force in 1935 when Nigeria was still
under colonial control by Great Britain and that
it remains in effect today.
The treaty provides a litany of crimes that
qualify for extradition, including fraud, fraudulent
conversion, obtaining money or goods by false
pretenses, forgery, offenses against bankruptcy
law, and bribery.
Numerous investigative reports by
SaharaReporters and other media indicate that
Mr. Obanikoro may have violated several of
these laws, including evidence connected to his
role in the Ekitigate plot. Sources speaking to
SaharaReporters in December 2015 revealed
that money stolen by the former National
Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki has been traced
to several companies under the control of Mr.
Obanikoro. The sources disclosed that the ill-
gotten money was either used for Ekitigate
bribes or laundered by Mr. Obanikoro for
personal use.
SaharaReporters also discussed the issue of
extradition with Peter Carr, an official at the
United States Department of Justice (DOJ) . The
DOJ is the primary federal criminal investigation
and enforcement arm of the US government and
would play a significant role in any extradition
process.
In an email to SaharaReporters, Mr. Carr
explained that “within [existing] statutory and
treaty framework, US practice is, generally, to
extradite its citizens, assuming that the
requirements of the treaty are met.” He added,
“The fact of dual nationality with Nigeria would
be irrelevant in this context.”
Article 8 of the extradition treaty “specifies that
extraditions will comply with the laws of the
requested country, i.e., the place where the
fugitive is found,” Mr. Carr further stated in his
email to SaharaReporters.
An interview with Mr. Obanikoro was published
today on news website Premium Times where
he dared the Nigerian government to extradite
him from the US. In the interview he said “they
[Nigerian authorities] will never attempt any
extradition. I, Musiliu Olatunde Obanikoro, am
inviting EFCC to petition America to extradite
me to Nigeria. The whole world would now see
their charade for what it is.”
Mr. Obanikoro then complimented the US judicial
system saying “in Nigeria, you’re either on this
side or the other side. But this American
system is unbiased. They’re neither for me nor
for them. So, let them bring the tissue of lies
that they have put together and submit
everything to serious judicial scrutiny and let us
see whether it will fly. I am inviting them to do
that.”
Mr. Obanikoro’s latest comments follows a
barrage of Tweets following the EFCC raid of
his posh Ikoyi residence. In his Twitter rage Mr.
Obanikoro again stated his confidence in the US
justice system and accused the EFCC of
spreading rumor and that President Buhari was
a despot.
SaharaReporters could not reach Mr. Obanikoro
for comment on this

Why?

Is he no longer US citizen?

MadamExcellency:
Why?

Is he no longer US citizen?

us dnt need a lousy mouth in their country.

project8:
us dnt need a lousy mouth in their country.

Your reply has no correlation to or with my question.

MadamExcellency:



Your reply has no correlation to or with my question.

madam mayb u cnt comprehend...bt i mean US doesnt need a loud mouthed criminal as her citizen.so weda citizen or not citizen they want him extradited to face corruption charges at home.tnk u

He will become loyal soon

Expecting him to decamp to APC as soon as he lands
He reminds me of an Ibo coward chestbeater. Let him be a yoruba man like Fayose or FFK.

MadamExcellency:
Why?


Is he no longer US citizen?

I don't think he was ever US citizen


Let them extradite.l him abeg


I love her they sing melodies


FFK telling me he didn't know 1.5billion.is government money

Ahh, see mugu of life?! He's trusting in US Legal System?

He shld better start packing a travelling bag complete with blankets, toiletries, mosquito coils & extra Lipton because he's EFCC Hotel Booking is complete now!

They left Nigeria because of their crime and uk and u.S government known this they continue aid thief.

DaBullIT:



I don't think he was ever US citizen


Let them extradite.l him abeg


I love her they sing melodies


FFK telling me he didn't know 1.5billion.is government money

He is an honorary citizen of Glenarden, Maryland and Little Rock, Arkansas.

MadamExcellency:

He is a honourary US citizen

Naturalization is not permanent.
Honourary ko Hungary ni.
I don't understand how you lots celebrate theives.

iKarma:


Naturalization is not permanent.
Honourary ko Hungary ni.
I don't understand how you lots celebrate theives.

You are most stupid person ever on Nairaland that deserve not to quote my comments.

What relevance is your reply to my question?

Get lost

MadamExcellency:


You are most stupid person ever on Nairaland that deserve not to quote my comments.

What relevance is your reply to my question?

Get lost

Lol NL version of Obanikoro

iKarma:


Lol NL version of Obanikoro

iKarma:
Ibo businesses? You mean the Fanyogo boys and traders? Lol the real businesses belongs to Yorubas.

With your obsession on discussing people, tribal differences and such which are 100% in contrast to my values of discussing substances, ideas and alternatives, we are parallel lines hence never quote my comment again.

Moreover, you sound frustrated and insecure

MadamExcellency:




With your obsession on discussing people, tribal differences and such which are 100% in contrast to my values of discussing substances, ideas and alternatives, we are parallel lines hence never quote my comment again.

Moreover, you sound frustrated and insecure

Too much grammar. I wouldn't be surprised if you're IPOB cum rented protester for Obanikoro. Here's the post that got you spitting:

Naturalization is not permanent.
Honourary ko Hungary ni.
I don't understand how you lots celebrate theives.