Police Address Tribal Pushback in Extradition of UK Murder Suspect

The Nigeria Police Force has addressed concerns that the extradition of murder and drug trafficking suspect Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi to the United Kingdom is being treated as a tribal matter.

The Force dismissed the tribal allegations, emphasising that the case is strictly one of justice and criminal accountability.

The Force’s New Media Officer, Aliyu Giwa, clarified on Friday in a post on X that official records confirm Adebiyi is of mixed heritage, with an Igbo mother and a Yoruba father.

He wrote, “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.”

Giwa warned that portraying murder and drug trafficking charges as tribal issues is both inaccurate and potentially harmful.

He added, “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’s statement came amid pushback from Nigerians over the alleged inclusion of “Chukwuemeka” among the names of the suspect.

Chukwuemeka is an Igbo name, which has formed the basis of allegations that the Nigeria Police is attempting to portray the suspect as an individual of Igbo origin.

TVC News reported on Thursday that the Nigeria Police Force extradited a suspect identified as Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi to the United Kingdom over an alleged involvement in murder and drug trafficking.

The development was confirmed in a Thursday statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Anthony Placide.

According to the statement, the extradition was carried out through the INTERPOL National Central Bureau Abuja following a formal request by UK authorities in September 2024 to locate, arrest and extradite the suspect.

The statement revealed that the suspect was wanted over the alleged murder of one Joshua Boadu on June 18, 2018, after which he fled to Nigeria to evade arrest.

The statement also revealed that the suspect was also accused of involvement in the supply of crack cocaine, a Class-A controlled drug, between October 2017 and March 2018 in the UK.