Guinea Bissau Adamant It Will Not Extradite Ex-Army Chief Indjai

Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has said that the country's former army chief of staff António Indjai will not be extradited to any country. This comes after the U.S. Department of State announced a reward of up to U.S.$5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Indjai.

Indjai is the former head of the Guinea-Bissau Armed Forces and has been the subject of a UN travel ban since May 2012, as a result of his participation in an April 2012 coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau.

He is also alleged to have been the leader of a criminal organisation that played an active role in drug trafficking in Guinea Bissau and West Africa for many years, even while serving as head of the Guinea Bissau armed forces.

He was seen as one of the most powerful destabilising figures in Guinea-Bissau, operating freely throughout West Africa, using illegal proceeds to corrupt and destabilise other foreign governments and undermine the rule of law throughout the region.

President Embaló said: "We do not ratify the Treaty of Rome, just as the US is not a signatory. If the US does not extradite its citizens, Guinea-Bissau will not either".

A street in capital, Bissau (file photo).

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