Nuhu Ribadu is the National Security Adviser.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a fundamental rights suit filed by Nadeem Anjarwalla, a Binance Executive, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Nuhu Ribadu is the National Security Adviser.
The case was dismissed due to the non-appearance of Anjarwalla's legal representatives in court, preventing the case from being heard and a verdict from being delivered on its merits.
This dismissal is a procedural ruling, unrelated to the case's substance, and does not address the underlying issues or claims presented.
SaharaReporters had reported that the Binance Executive had filed a fundamental rights enforcement before the court, seeking a declaration that his detention by Nigerian authorities was unlawful.
Anjarwalla was arrested on February 26 following an investigation into Binance's activities in Nigeria before he fled had also filed a request for costs in his favour.
He emphasised the emotional and financial strain his detention had placed on himself, his family, and relatives.
Tonye Krukrubo, who represented him had earlier withdrawn from the case without giving any reason.
Earlier in June, 16 United States lawmakers wrote to President Joe Biden, asking him to bring back Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance executive who has been detained in Nigeria for months over money laundering charges.
Gambaryan and his colleague, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were arrested and detained in February following an investigation into Binance’s activities in Nigeria.
Subsequently, the EFCC charged Gambaryan, his company, Binance Holdings Limited and Anjarwalla, a fellow top executive currently on the run before a Federal High Court in Abuja sitting with money laundering and terrorism financing.
He was arraigned on five counts bordering on alleged tax evasion, currency speculation and money laundering to the tune of $34,400,000. Following the escape of his colleague, Anjarwalla, the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, refused to grant his bail application on May 17, 2024.
Delivering the ruling on the bail application Justice Nwite held that after carefully going through the application submitted before him, he resolved that the defendant would jump bail if granted.
SaharaReporters reported on May 1, 2024, that Yuki, Gambaryan’s wife had raised the alarm over her husband’s continued incarceration in Kuje prison.
She claimed her husband was put together with Boko Haram terrorists and bandits.
Yuki told the United States Parliament that her husband had spent 65 days in custody in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, along with 15 other leaders, in a letter sent to President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger D. Carstens, dated Tuesday, June 4, 2024, demanded an immediate action regarding the U.S. citizen.
In the letter, they urged the president to treat Gambaryan's case as a hostage situation and bring him back to the U.S.
“We fear for his life. Immediate action is essential to ensure his safety and preserve his life. We must act swiftly before it is too late,” they said.