Ladipo Sanusi/
The senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Buruji Kashamu, may soon be on his way to the US to face drug charges.
The Lagos Division of the Appeal Court today nullified the order of a Federal High Court, which restrained the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency from extraditing the senator.
The Attorney-General of the Federation had filed two separate appeals against the ruling of the Federal High Court, Lagos and the Federal High Court, Abuja restraining the NDLEA and other security agencies from arresting and extraditing the senator.
The panel, led by justice Justice Yagarta Nimper, upheld the Federal Government’s appeal by setting aside the earlier judgements of the Federal High Court, Lagos delivered by Justice Okon Abang, which nullified the extradition warrant issued against Kashamu.
Justice Abang had on May 25, 2015, perpetually restrained the NDLEA and other agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria from arresting, detaining, attacking or otherwise effecting the abduction of Kashamu upon charges based on allegations of drug trafficking leveled against him by the United States Government.
Justice Abang also set aside and nullified the warrant for the arrest of Kashamu.
However, in an unanimous decision by the panel comprising Justices Nimpar, Joseph Ikyegh and Anthony Ogakwu, the appeal court upheld the argument of the AGF, represented by Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN), that Justice Abang was “in error in granting some of the injunctive reliefs sought by Kashamu upon inadmissible evidence”.
The appellate court also held that the trial judge, “having struck out several paragraphs in the affidavit relating to allegations that General Olusegun Obasanjo was behind the travails of the senator and the alleged plans to forcibly abduct him to the United States to face drug charges, was wrong to have retained other paragraphs of the same affidavit containing hearsay allegations against Mr. Dapo Abiodun and Chief Godwin Obla, SAN”.
The Court observed that Justice Abang “relied heavily on speculations and conjectures in arriving at his judgment, which are not permitted in law”.
The court further chided Justice Abang for not giving counsel to the AG the opportunity to file a counter-affidavit in opposition to the case file presented by Kashamu, adding that this infraction nullified the entire proceedings.
The Court of Appeal, consequently, allowed the Federal Government’s appeals, while setting aside the judgments delivered by Justice Abang on May 25 and June 8, 2015.
The court also set aside the consequential order by Justice Abang in which he nullified the warrant of arrest issued by Justice Saidu of Federal High Court, Lagos for the arrest and commencement of extradition proceedings against Kashamu at the Federal High Court Abuja.
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