Allen Onyema
According to a report by Sun News, the alleged acts of fraud against
the Chairman of Airpeace Airline Company, Mr. Allen Onyema by the United
States of America (USA) has mertmorphosed into a legal action with a
suit by a human rights activist and legal practitioner, Johnmary
Jideobi, seeking to stop the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF)
from attempts to extradite him to the United States of America (USA) for
trial.
In the suit before the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, the
plaintiff also requested for an order of the court restraining any
agency of government with prosecutorial powers as represented by AGF
either by themselves, their servants, privies, assigns or any other
person or authority acting under any concerts from attempting to use or
seeking to harass, threaten, arrest or inviting or arresting Onyema in
relations to Civil aviation contract he entered with American
authorities through his companies.
In the suit with Reference No.: FHC/ABJ/CS/1446/2019, the activist also
sought the court order barring government, its agencies, servants of
privies from giving effect to any extradition request from any country
of the world especially the United States of America anchored on any
indictment or charges reflecting in substance or similar fact as
contained in the US extradition request against Onyema.
The court was also urged to make any other order or orders as circumstances in his situation may warrant.
In a 6-paragraph affidavit in support of the suit, the applicant claimed
to have come from Anambra state with Onyema and that he had known him
as a reputable business man in the aviation sector over the years.
The activist averred that the freedom of Onyema has become endangered in
the country and likely to be curtailed in the circumstances of the
alleged fraud indictment.
The affidavit deposed to by one Martin’s Okoye, a legal practitioner
said that the applicant has piously with sufficient understanding the
entirety of the alleged criminal indictment and believed that the
totality of the facts and circumstances surrounding the indictment
points to multiple civil aviation-related transactions Onyema through
his companies entered into with his business partners in America whose
businesses have not shown to have come under any criminal suspicion in
America.
He therefore asked the court to make declaration that the federal
government has no power to abridge the fundamental right of Onyema to
freedom of movement as enshrined under section 35 of the 1999
constitution
Onyema, the Chief Executive Officer of the biggest private airline in
the country was said to have been indicted for fraud by the American
government.
The American authorities were said to have been making efforts to apply
for extradition of the business man to enable them put him on trial for
the alleged fraud.
Meanwhile, no date has yet been fixed for hearing of the suit filed on November 25, 2019.