The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Friday said is continuing moves to extradite a financier of the Peoples Democratic Party in the South-West, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, to the United States for alleged drug-related offences. Kashamu is a senator representing Ogun-East Senatorial District at the National Assembly.
The anti-narcotics agency said it is appealing the various orders and court injunctions granted the senator, which are preventing his arrest and extradition. The NDLEA had been at daggers drawn with Kashamu over a claim by the agency that it received a request from the American government seeking the extradition of the PDP leader to answer drug-related charges.
The agency, in what it tagged, ‘house arrest’, had deployed its operatives in the Lekki, Lagos, residence of the politician for six days before they were withdrawn, following a court order. A Federal High Court in Lagos had, in separate rulings, restrained the NDLEA and any other agencies in the country from unlawfully arresting and forcefully extraditing the Ijebu-born politician to the US.
The Head of Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, said the agency had approached the courts to vacate all orders granted Kashamu. He stated that the agency would follow all legal means to ensure that Kashamu was extradited. Ofoyeju said, “He (Kashamu) went to court to seek several orders. We have appealed those orders. The matters have not been determined. We are in court.”
The NDLEA spokesman explained that Kashamu had built several legal walls to prevent the agency from arresting to him. “For instance, the warrant of arrest we obtained from the court, he set it aside (through a court). Then, the suit the Attorney-General of the Federation filed; the motion for his extradition, he also went to court to set it aside. The AGF is appealing that order and we are appealing ours. The cases are already in court.”
Ofoyeju said the NDLEA was not to witch-hunt Kashamu, claiming that the agency had been requested by the American government to extradite him. He said, “We have the formal request from the United States,’ asking for his extradition. We have that and we went to obtain a warrant of arrest which he got an order to set aside. He got so many court orders; we are now appealing those orders to enable us to follow due process.
“We cannot use the legal process to impede his extradition process. If he says he believes in the rule of law, we are going to follow it up to a logical conclusion.”
