Does Nigeria have an extradition treaty with The Netherlands?

I asked the above question because a federal high court siting in Abuja struck out an application by the federal government seeking to extradite a Nigerian, Kingsley Edegbe to The Netherlands to stand trial for allegations of human trafficking.

The application we were told was brought by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, seeking the court’s approval for the extradition following a request by the Dutch Government. The trial Judge, Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed has in his ruling delivered Tuesday, held that the application is incompetent, and that the court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain it.

“The court has not been shown any extradition treaty between Nigeria and the Netherlands upon which the application sought could have been granted. The reliance on the United Nation’s convention against transnational organised crime is not an extradition treaty act as envisaged by section 1 of the extradition act of Nigeria” the judge stated.

The court further noted that the African charter was clearly domesticated and that Nigeria has extradition treaty with South Africa which has also been domesticated and therefore insisted that it is not prepared to hold that an extradition treaty exits between Netherlands and Nigeria when there is none.

“It is a dangerous precedent to abandon an existing law to enable the extradition of the suspect. There is no competent application before this court for the extradition of the suspect. This is hereby struck out” said the judge.

The extradition, according to the Nigerian government, is to enable Edegbe to face six counts of human trafficking that had been instituted against him in Netherlands.

My question and that of every person who knows anything about law is, does Nigeria have any extradition treaty with The Netherlands, and if the answers is "no", then there should be no application in the first place.

Indeed it would set a wrong precedent which we would not be able to control because it's sure to go out of hand if allowed to start. Extraditing without an extradition treaty.

Happy this judge may the right call.

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