Kashamu cries out, points accusing finger as bid to extradite him thickens

Senator representing Ogun East at the Senate, Buruji Kashamu, has described resumed efforts to extradite him to the United States of America (USA), to face trial in a drug related case, as a desperate effort by a governorship aspirant to destroy him.

A Court of Appeal judgment delivered on May 4, 2018, had ruled that Kashamu can be arrested by security agencies if need be, quashing an earlier judgment of a lower court that prohibited the senator’s arrest and extradition to USA by any law enforcement agencies.

Though Kashamu had challenged the ruling at the Supreme Court, he however alleged in a statement on Friday that a House of Representatives member, Ladi Adebutu, was behind the recent efforts to ensure his extradition to the USA.

He said, “As most of you are probably aware, this issue began about 21 years ago. But thankfully, the upright British judiciary, which served as an arbiter between me and the United States Government, found that it was a case of mistaken identity. And that was the end of the matter or so, I thought.

“When I joined politics in 2009, my opponents and detractors began to look for what they could use to tarnish my image, hence the continuous noise, especially in every election year.

“The recent onslaught against me came about following the decision of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal which allowed an appeal against the judgment given in my favour at the lower court in a fundamental Human Rights enforcement suit.

“Candidly, I never knew that someone’s ambition to be governor could degenerate to the extent of calling for the head of another person. I am referring to none other than Ladi Adebutu’s governorship ambition and the desperate moves to sink me by all means.

“During my senatorial election, Ladi Adebutu never campaigned for me or with me. During the election, they bought votes against me but God proved His mightiness. When they failed in their attempt to stop my election, they went to influence the Election Petitions tribunal. But, the Almighty God again upturned the evil verdict at the Court of Appeal.

“Not done, they went to file a suit at the Federal High Court, Lagos, using a group known as Advocacy for Integrity and Economic Development (AIED), against me and the U.S. Government, asking a foreign government to come and take me away even when the same people failed in their bid to do so in a foreign land over 20 years ago. As God would have it, the suit was dismissed by the court.

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“When the Office of the AGF appealed the judgment in my favour in 2015, they took interest in the appeal and influenced the judgment. To show their hands in the whole matter, they sent a representative to the court to ensure the judgment went as they had planned. Thank God, I have a right of appeal to the Supreme Court which I have exercised.

“Now, the same Adebutus are going about hiring Igbo and Hausa lawyers to pressurise the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation to write the U.S. to come and kidnap me under the guise of extradition.

“These are people I have been good to. I was the one the Almighty God used to help Ladi Adebutu to realise his over 12 years ambition to go to the House of Representatives after his brief stint in the aborted Third Republic. He rode on the back of the same party structure that he now seeks to break.”

 

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