A United Nations staff suspected to have smuggled firearms to Cote D’Ivoire will remain in custody in Nairobi pending the hearing and determination of an extradition application.
Bile Jean Philippe Aimard Assemian was arrested on 26th June 2025 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi, following an INTERPOL Red Notice alert.
Principal Magistrate Caroline Mugo ruled that the case will be mentioned on 1st September 2025 after granting the state leave to respond to the notice of preliminary objection.
It is alleged that Assemian is a fugitive wanted in the United States of America for prosecution.
According to an affidavit by Senior Sergeant Bernard Mudavadi opposing the respondent’s release on bail, the respondent was intercepted and arrested by offficers from the Anti Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), at the JKIA upon his arrival from Mogadishu, Somalia.
Assemian, a national of the Republic of Cote D’Ivoire, is currently assigned to the United Nations Support Office in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Officer Mudavadi states that on 30th June 2025, Honourable Irene Gichobi (PM), granted custodial orders for a period of thirty (30) days, whereupon the respondent was committed to lawful custody at the ATPU, pending receipt of a formal extradition request from the US for purposes of initiating extradition proceedings.
“On 24th July 2025, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) received a formal request through the Central Authority Justice from the United States of America, transmitted by Mr. Segev the Office of the Attorney General and Department of Phillips, Assistant United States Attorney, Northern District of Ohio, for the arrest and extradition of the respondent to the United States of America to stand trial for the offence of Conspiracy to Smuggle Goods from the United States,” the officer added.
The court heard that on 28th May 2025, the Assemian was indicted by a Grand Jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, for the offence of Conspiracy to Smuggle Goods from the US.
“On diverse dates between November 2018 and October 2020, the respondent herein, together with his co-defendant Koffi Andrea Versaint Taregue and other individuals, conspired to purchase firearms designated as defense articles within the United States, primarily in the States of Ohio and Maryland, with the intent to illegally export the said firearms to Côte d’Ivoire,” the officer said.
It is alleged that Assemian and Taregue, did not possess a Federal Firearms License issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), nor an export license issued by the United States Department of State, Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), or by the United States Department of Commerce.
In addition, the court heard that the respondent wired approximately USD 42,000 to Taregue, between June 2019 and April 2020.
Teregue is alleged to have spent at least USD 22,000 on various firearms purchased at different locations within the United States:
The two are said to have packaged and delivered the said firearms and firearms parts concealed in large blue plastic barrels and hidden among household goods to an export shipping company within the United States for shipment to Côte d’Ivoire, without declaring that the said consignments contained firearms and firearms parts.
The state claims that if the respondent is released, he may abscond.
However, Assemian’s lawyer Kirathe Wandugi opposed the same on grounds that his client is a diplomat of Somalia and therefore enjoys full diplomatic immunity.
The court will also set a ruling date on 1st September 2025.
