Supreme Court Clears Ex-NSPMC Boss Okoyomon for Extradition to UK Over Bribery Allegations

The Supreme Court has upheld the extradition of former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC), Emmanuel Okoyomon, to the United Kingdom to face bribery-related charges.

In a unanimous ruling delivered on Friday, June 5, a five-member panel of the apex court dismissed Okoyomon's appeal challenging an earlier judgment that authorised his extradition.

The appeal sought to overturn the June 6, 2016 decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which affirmed a Federal High Court order granting the Federal Government permission to extradite him to the UK for prosecution.

The Supreme Court panel, led by Justice Mohammed Garba, ruled that the appeal lacked merit and found no reason to interfere with the decisions of the lower courts.

The lead judgment, prepared by Justice Emmanuel Agim and delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, held that the appellant failed to establish sufficient grounds for the Supreme Court to reverse the concurrent findings of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Consequently, the court dismissed the appeal, although it declined to award costs against Okoyomon.

The case originated from an application filed by the Attorney General of the Federation seeking Okoyomon's extradition to the United Kingdom, where he is wanted in connection with an alleged international bribery scheme involving officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company, and Securency International Pty Ltd, an Australian firm.

Following the Federal High Court's approval of the extradition request in 2015, Okoyomon challenged the decision at the Court of Appeal, arguing that his constitutional right to a fair hearing had been violated.

However, the appellate court rejected most of his arguments.

In its judgment, delivered by Justice Moore Adumein, the Court of Appeal held that Nigeria has an obligation under the London Scheme for Extradition within the Commonwealth to extradite individuals accused of extraditable offences to other Commonwealth countries, including the United Kingdom.

The court further noted that the principles of the Commonwealth extradition arrangement have been substantially incorporated into Nigerian law through the Extradition Act.

Justice Adumein stated that the Federal Government had presented sufficient evidence to justify the extradition request, while Okoyomon failed to provide convincing reasons why the application should be refused.

The appellate court also addressed the appellant's complaint regarding a point raised by the trial judge concerning his British citizenship status. It held that even if there had been an error in the procedure, Okoyomon failed to demonstrate how it resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

According to the court, the question of whether or not he held British citizenship had no bearing on the merits of the extradition application.

Having resolved the major legal issues against the appellant, the Court of Appeal dismissed the case, a decision that ultimately led to the final appeal before the Supreme Court.

With the apex court's ruling, all legal barriers to Okoyomon's extradition have now been removed, clearing the way for him to be transferred to the United Kingdom to answer the bribery allegations against him.