Questions have been raised about the travel document used in the extradition of Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi.
— Aliyu Giwa (@aleeygiwa) April 17, 2026
I want to clarify the facts to ensure accuracy.
The document in question is a valid Emergency British Passport. This standard temporary travel document, valid for up to… https://t.co/xz2RZe2Cue
The Nigeria Police Force has firmly rejected attempts to frame the extradition of murder and drug trafficking suspect Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi to the United Kingdom as a tribal matter, insisting the case is solely about criminal accountability after nearly eight years of the fugitive evading British justice on Nigerian soil.
When Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi boarded a flight out of Murtala Muhammed International Airport on April 14, 2026, he ended nearly eight years as a fugitive. He had fled the United Kingdom in the wake of the June 2018 murder of Joshua Boadu in Britain, apparently calculating that Nigeria would offer him permanent sanctuary. He calculated wrong.
His extradition, however, immediately attracted an unwelcome sideshow — attempts on social media to reframe the criminal justice process as an ethnic issue. The Nigeria Police Force was having none of it. New Media Officer Aliyu Giwa responded sharply, stating: “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 was unambiguous about the absence of any ethnic dimension in the case: “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.”
The road to extradition was methodical. UK authorities filed a formal request with INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Abuja in September 2024. Adebiyi was arrested on January 23, 2025, extradition proceedings were filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, and Justice A. O. Faji approved the order on February 16, 2026. Beyond the murder charge, Adebiyi also faces allegations of supplying crack cocaine between October 2017 and March 2018.
For Joshua Boadu’s family, the development brought closure long overdue. “Joshua Boadu’s family waited nearly eight years for this day. Today, the Nigeria Police Force and INTERPOL NCB Abuja made it possible,” Giwa noted. Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu reinforced the broader message with characteristic directness: “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.”