Senator Buruji Kashamu (PDP-Ogun East) has filed two notices of appeal at the Supreme Court seeking to set aside the recent Court of Appeal judgment. The Court of Appeal last Friday granted the request of the federal government to extradite the lawmaker to the United States of America (USA) to face trial in a drug related offence.
The court also voided and set aside all orders made by a federal high court between 2014 and 2017 restraining the government from proceeding with the extradition. Kashamu, through his counsel alleged that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami was planning to abduct and transport him to the United States to face trial.
He also averred that the Court of Appeal erred in dismissing his objections. Kashami said: “The lower court misdirected itself when it held that the appellant has not made out a case of breach or likelihood of a breach of his fundamental rights. "It is unfortunte that these persons have chosen to channel their energies towards blackmailing the AGF to punish an innocent citizen and achieve a personal vendetta against someone who is seen as their political foe.
"Their pursuit is of interest to them even when all right-thinking members of the society know that I have a right of appeal against the judgment, which right I have immediately exercised.”The chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urged Malami not to allow his office to be used to punish an innocent Nigerian.
Kashamu said: “His office should not be used to punish and unjustly persecute an innocent and patriotic Nigerian, in a bid to satisfy the desire of some political opponents or external forces whose interest is to seek and gain political advantage. To do that will be tantamount to unjustly prosecuting another man’s battle either directly or indirectly.
"The facts of the case speak for itself. I can no longer be the subject of any extradition case when I had on two occasions faced extradition proceedings in a foreign land and I was exonerated and freed to go home.“The Government of the United Kingdom has testified through the British High Commission in a letter dated 27th of April, 2015 and addressed to former Inspector-General of Police Solomon Arase that I was freed from extradition proceedings in their country between 1998 and 2003.
"I am however surprised at the efforts to blackmail the AGF to entrench the persecution of the last administration and legalise their illegality.“If the AGF should painstakingly study the files with him, he would realise that there are better things to expend public funds on that engaging private lawyers to pursue a failed course, which only seeks to satisfy my political foes that have no goodwill in the society.”
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