State attacks cyber scam accused’s fight against extraditionSipho Masombuka | 28 May, 2015 06:56
The state on Wednesday trashed the North Gauteng High Court application by eight Nigerians seeking to stop their extradition to the US to stand trial for a cyber scam‚ arguing that the application had no basis.Thesigan Pillay‚ the lawyer for the Nigerians argued that their incarceration awaiting extradition amounted to detention without trial and therefore unlawful.
He said Section 14 of the Extradition Act was vague as it did not provide safeguards to protect the applicants' rights in that they had 30 days to challenge their extradition order but could not do so as they were incarcerated.
But state advocate Bantubonke Tokota said he could not make up what the case was about‚ saying Pillay seemed to be confused by the extradition system.
He argued that Section 10 of the act gave a magistrate powers‚ after granting an extradition order‚ to imprison the accused.
“Once ordered‚ (the magistrate) has to commit that person to detention. It cannot be unlawful...the Nigerians have no guts to say why they are here only that 'we are here'. If a foreign country says the person has committed a crime‚ surrender him to face trial. The state (SA) has to facilitate that process to make sure that the country does not become a haven for criminals” Takota said.
He also rubbished Pillay's argument that the Extradition Act was unconstitutional in that it gave minister of justice and correctional services Michael Masutha judicial powers to order the extradition of an accused person‚ to cancel an arrest warrant and order the release of an accused person.
The Nigerians‚ who‚ along with a South African woman‚ are alleged to be members of a cyber scam syndicate‚ were nabbed by the Hawks in April last year in raids conducted in Sunnyside‚ Pretoria‚ for swindling hundreds of US citizens in an infamous “419 scam”.
Two of the accused have already been extradited to the US. Judge Elizabeth Kabushi reserved the judgement for Friday.
– The Times
