Police reject ethnic framing of Nigerian man extradited to UK

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed attempts to portray the extradition of murder and drug trafficking suspect Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi to the United Kingdom as a tribal issue, insisting the matter is strictly about criminal justice and accountability.

The clarification was made on Friday by the Force’s New Media Officer, Aliyu Giwa, in a post on X, where he also referenced official records indicating Adebiyi’s mixed heritage.

“Crime has no tribe, justice has no ethnicity. Following Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi’s extradition to the UK, his international passport and official records confirm that his mother is Igbo and his father is Yoruba.

“Portraying murder and drug trafficking charges as tribal issues is both inaccurate and potentially harmful.” Giwa wrote.

He stressed that neither the circumstances of the victim’s death nor the extradition process had any ethnic dimension.

“Matthew did not flee the UK because of his ethnicity. Joshua Boadu’s murder was not motivated by ethnic factors. The Nigeria Police Force did not facilitate this extradition on the basis of ethnicity. Justice has been served.

“Tribal identity should not influence legal proceedings. In this case, the facts are clear: a fugitive, a court order, and accountability,” Giwa stated.

Adebiyi was extradited on April 14, 2026, after spending nearly eight years as a fugitive in Nigeria following the June 2018 murder of Joshua Boadu in the United Kingdom.

He also faces charges of supplying crack cocaine between October 2017 and March 2018.

According to Giwa, Adebiyi fled to Nigeria in an attempt to evade prosecution.

“He fled to Nigeria, thinking he would be safe. He was wrong,” he wrote on Thursday.

UK authorities had submitted a formal extradition request to INTERPOL National Central Bureau Abuja in September 2024. Adebiyi was arrested on January 23, 2025, and extradition proceedings were subsequently filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

On February 16, 2026, Justice A. O. Faji approved the extradition, after which Adebiyi was handed over to UK law enforcement officials at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Giwa also highlighted the emotional weight of the development for the victim’s family.

“Joshua Boadu’s family waited nearly eight years for this day. Today, the Nigeria Police Force and INTERPOL NCB Abuja made it possible,” he said.

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, also reaffirmed the Force’s commitment to international cooperation in law enforcement.

“Nigeria is not a hiding place. It is not a refuge for fugitives. No border, distance or time will stop the Force from working with the global community to deliver justice,” Disu said

Vanguard News

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