A US Court has heard pleas to postpone the trial date in the $1.1million fraud case involving a top police officer in Nigeria Abba Kyari to May 17, 2022.
Both prosecutors and three of the six defendants applied for the postponement of the trial earlier scheduled for October.
The defendants calling for postponement are all on bail. They include Rukayat Fashola (aka Morayo), Bolatito Agbabiaka (aka Bolamide), and Yusuf Anifowoshe (aka AJ and Alvin Johnson).
According to the application, the other defendants — Mr Kyari, Abdulrahman Juma, and Kelly Chibuzo Vincent – “remain at large”.
Premium Times reports that a copy of the applications it obtained which was filed last Friday cited various reasons for postponement of the trial including the need for additional time to prepare for the case and process huge documentary evidence.
US acting attorney for the Central District of California and US assistant attorney, Khaldoun Shobaki, signed the application on behalf of the US government.
Parties to the application said the facts presented to ask for the postponement “demonstrate good cause to support the appropriate findings under the Speedy Trial Act.”
Court documents released in July show that Kyari was implicated after an FBI investigation revealed he helped Instagram celebrity Ramon Abass aka Hushpuppi detain a co-conspirator in the $1.1million fraud targeted at a Qatari businessperson between November 2019 and April 2020.
The detained co-conspirator was going to warn the victim about the scam.
Pending a US extradition request against Kyari, the Nigeria Police Force have conducted investigation on the allegations. The findings have not been made public.
