Abuja Court Dismisses Federal Government’s Suit To Extradite Kashamu

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed an application for the extradition of Ogun-East Senator in the National Assembly, Buruji Kashamu, to the United States of America to face illicit drugs related offense trial.

The immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, had filed the application on May 28, 2015 upon a United State government’s request asking the Nigerian government to submit Kashamu for extradition.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole in his ruling held that he lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit while the judgment of the division of the court in Lagos nullifying the proceedings on June 8, 2015 and the same judgment affirmed by another judge of the same Lagos division had not been set aside by an appellate court.

Justice Okon Abang of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on June 8, 2015, had nullified the extradition proceedings which he said were initiated on in contravention of an earlier order of the court.Abang’s orders nullifying the proceedings were affirmed by Justice Ibrahim Buba in a ruling on June 23, 2015.

Though Justice Kolawole expressed reservations on the Lagos judgments, which he described as “wild and audacious,” he held that it was the exclusive duty of the Court of Appeal to determine whether they were rightly or wrongly given.

Kashamu’s counsel, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede had on June 25, 2015, when the case came up for the first time, urged the court to dismiss the extradition application in the light of the judgments delivered in Lagos.