By Fola James
Senator Buruji Kashamu, a chieftain of the peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP can be compared to the thespian cat with nine lives, after successfully fighting off attempts by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration from extraditing him to the United States of America, USA to face trial on drug related issues.
Based on the request from the US governments, the administration tried unsuccessfully to send him back to the US through legal means in 2014.
Obviously, the same scenario appears to be playing out with the Muhammadu Buhari administration which, after coming to power in 2015 continued with the legal process to extradite the Ijebu-Ogun state born politician to the United States.
Kashamu, again got another respite yesterday after a federal high court in Abuja, restrained the federal government from taking fresh steps to extradite the former lawmaker to the US.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Okon Abang, who presided over the fresh suit, ruled that as much as a January 6, 2014 judgment of the federal high court in Lagos remained subsisting and had not been set aside, no fresh extradition application could be made against the former senator
Justice Abang said he stopped the extradition of Kashamu, who once represented Ogun-East Senatorial District, Buruji Kashamu at the Senate because the federal government has failed to follow due process.
He said the federal government must first vacate previous judgments of the federal high court in Abuja and Lagos prohibiting Kashamu’s extradition.
The judge ruled that while the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation successfully obtained a judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, delivered on May 4, 2018, dismissing the restraining order in the suit marked 508/2015, the AGF failed to appeal the other judgment in the suit marked 49/2010.
Abang said “The fact that the restraining order in the judgment in suit 49/2010 dated January 6, 2014, is still valid and subsisting, it is not a matter of sentiment,” the judge ruled.
To appeal the judgment is the lawful step to take. To take any other steps against the judgment order than appealing is unlawful, and an exercise of executive lawlessness.”
He said the AGF, the nation’s chief law officer has acted with ignorance.
“I hope that the AGF, an office created by the constitution, the Chief Law Officer of the federation, who is also the chief minister in the temple of justice, the conscience of the society, should toe the path of the law and should not violate the laws of the land,” PUNCH quoted the judge to have said,” Justice Abang said.
Mohammed Adoke, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice had in May 28, 2015 filed an extradition application in the federal high court, Abuja, on the request by the United States of America demanding that the federal government to surrender Kashamu to face trial on one count charge of illicit drugs pending against him before the United States District Court for the Northern Illinois, Eastern Division.
