Cisco and Alfred-Adekeye in July 2010. According to Sandford, McKinnon said Cisco had engaged in "duplicity" in pursuing such strong criminal charges in a case in which it dropped its claims after a settlement just a few months later. Cisco had said Alfred-Adekeye had stolen software worth more than US$14,000, without providing a more specific figure.

U.S. authorities also used "innuendo, half-truths and falsehoods" about Alfred-Adekeye in the package of information it presented in favor of the emergency extradition, the judge said. For example, the U.S. attorney questioned Alfred-Adekeye's British citizenship even though he had been granted U.S. visas with a British passport in the past, and said Alfred-Adekeye had tried to use a Nigerian passport to enter the U.S. when he used the British passport, the judge said, according to Sandford.

Alfred-Adekeye had sought to enter the U.S. to testify in the civil case but was not allowed to, so a special session of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California was held in Vancouver on May 20, 2010. Arresting him while he testified at that session violated normal legal practice, McKinnon said.

Alfred-Adekeye once worked for Cisco but left to form his own companies in Silicon Valley, including Multiven, a provider of service and support for networking gear. Multiven sued Cisco in 2008, alleging it forced Cisco customers to buy SMARTnet service contracts from Cisco in order to get software updates.

In a statement on Friday, Cisco said the U.S. Secret Service had issued its criminal complaint against Alfred-Adekeye after nearly two years of investigation. "Ultimately this case is a matter between U.S. and Canadian governmental authorities," Cisco said.