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EXTRADITION: Court rules in favour of Kashamu

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EXTRADITION: Court rules in favour of Kashamu

Senator Buruji Kashamu may have to, at least for the time being, forget the issue of being extradited to the United States of America (USA) for an alleged drug related offence.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to halt their fresh move to extradite the Ogun East senator to the USA.

The AGF was said to have started moves to extradite Kashamu to the US after a Lagos Court of Appeal, in its ruling on May 4, 2018, set aside an earlier judgment delivered by the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, preventing the Federal Government or any law enforcement agency from extradite the senator.

Following the development, Kashamu had through his counsel, J. O. Odubela (SAN), filed an ex-parte application before Justice Babatunde Quadri of the federal High Court Abuja.

Ruling on the application on Tuesday, Justice Quadri ordered parties to the suit, including the AGF and NDLEA, as respondents, to maintain status quo. He also granted leave to the applicant to serve processes in relation to the suit, including the originating summons on NDLEA outside the jurisdiction of the court at 4 Shaw Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Kashamu’s lawyer had told the court on Tuesday that his client had no option than seek court protection after being informed that the respondents had renewed the plans to extradite his client to the USA.

He prayed the court to restrain the defendants from abducting, arresting or detaining his client with the intention to extradite him.

He added, “We have shown that the applicant had even been tried in England and exonerated. Our contention is whether, in view of the judgment of the court in England, the Federal Government or any of its agencies can still request the US to file a fresh request for the extradition of the applicant.”

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On the judgement of the Appeal Court on the matter, Kashamu’s lawyer told the presiding judge that the appellant court in reversing the judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which had prohibited the Federal Government from commencing extradition proceedings against the senator noted that there was no evidence that the AGF and NDLEA were taking steps to effect his extradition as at when the judgment was given.

Delivering judgment after hearing the arguments, Justice Quadri ordered the parties to maintain the status quo until the determination of the substantive suit, in line with the doctrine of lis pendis.

He then adjourned the matter till September 24 for the hearing of the substantive suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/530/18.

It is expected that before then, the AGF’s office would have responded to the suit.

 

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