4th May, 2015
Akin Kuponiyi
In a bid to forestall his extradition to the United states of America to face drug related charges, a Federal high court sitting in Lagos will today commence the hearing of a fundamental human right enforcement suit filed before the court by a chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party, Buruji Kashamu.
In a 92-paragraph affidavit sworn to by Buruji Kashamu himself and filed before the court by two senior advocates of Nigeria, Dr.Alex Izinyon and Riceky Tarfa who are prosecuting the legal warfare against twelve defendants namely, Inspector General of Police, Chairman National Drug law Enforcement Agency,(NDLEA) and Chairman Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). Other defendants are Director State Security Services (DSS), The Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB), Attorney General of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria, The Clerk of the the National Assembly of Federal Republic Of Nigeria, The National Security Adviser to the President Federal Republic Of Nigeria, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission, Nigeria Customs Services, The Nigeria Immigration Services and The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
The deponent who claims to be a businessman and recently elected as senator of Federal Republic Of Nigeria from Ogun East Senatorial District of Ogun state of Nigeria, alleged thus:
That he was incarcerated in Brixton Prisons in London from 1998 till the 10th of January 2003 when judgement delivered by the Bow Street Magistrate London presided over by District Judge Tim Workman, held that the allegations by the United States authorities against him with regard to importation of narcotics into the United States of America involved a case of mistaken identity and there was no “prima facie” case that he was the person referred to as “Alhaji” by those apprehended in the US who had indicated that they had a west African collaborator. Consequently the Judge then proceeded to set aside the committal order.
However after the judgement was delivered on 6 October, 2000, he was re-arrested and brought to face the second extradition proceedings which the US authorities had commenced before the Judgement of the high court was delivered. When the second extradition judgment was delivered on the 10th of January, 2003 by Justice Tim Workman, he was released. Thereafter he returned to Nigeria to start his business.
He stated that he was lured to join politics because of his philanthropic activities through his OMO-ILU Foundation. But his political activities has brought him some powerful enemies including his erstwhile political leader Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Buruji alleged further that Chief Obasanjo and himself had been political allies between 2009 and 2012 when he worked for him and his candidate for governorship of Ogun state, General Olurin.
However he fell out with Chief Obasanjo because of his stand for internal democracy in the Peoples Democratic Party. Consequently himself and his allies resorted to litigation to loosen Obasanjo’s hold on the party.
On PDP and Obasanjo, he said every attempt to stop his progress politically has been made including intense propaganda against him tending to give an impression that he had been convicted for drug related offences in the United Kingdom or United States.
International Criminal Police Organisation INTERPOL had also been instigated to investigate him on the basis of these allegations. In 2008 and at the conclusion of the investigation, it was published on 4th of March, 2008 that he was never declared wanted. Thereafter he was constrained to issue several press statement.
Buruji alleged that his lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede informed him in October that on a flight to Abuja from Lagos a colleague of his Chief Obla SAN who is very close to Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) informed him of the tremendous pressure that Chief Obasanjo was putting upon the AGF for his extradition and in one of the discussion between the AGF and Chief Obasanjo witnessed by Chief Obla, Obasanjo boasted that he was making arrangement with some US officials in the region to have him abducted and flown in a private plane to US. Chief Obla then advised Prince Oluyede to warn him to be very careful.
Upon discreet inquiries he found out that indeed there have been moves by US official within the region to secure the assistance of the head of Interpol division in Nigerian former Deputy Inspector Of Police, Mr Solomon Arase now acting Inspector General Of Police for his arrest and delivery to the US officials for transportation to US without following due process require by the Nigeria Extradiction Act.
Arase was alleged to have confirmed that one Doma Chabot approached him in January 2015 and he has been in communication with her and US Directorate of Homeland security Headquarters in Washington DC since then. The said Ms Chabot is Attache Department of Homeland security immigration and customs enforcement at the American Embassy Route. Des Almedies BP 49 Dakar Senegal.
On the 1st of April, 2015 he received Koye Ijaduoye one of the chieftain of PDP from Remo North Local Government who introduced himself as a former Personal Assistant to Dapo Abiodun the APC candidate in the last senatorial election visited him at Ijebu Igbo, his country home, and told him to telephone Dapo Abiodun to sympathize with him on his loss in the election but to his surprise Dapo Abiodun brushed aside his sympathy and told him that chief Obasanjo had assured him that plans had been concluded between certain US security official and some Nigeria security officers to arrest him during his swearing-in as senator in May 2015 and transport him to the US in a private plane to face trial before judge Norge and the second option was to get the Inspector of Police to withdraw his Police protection thus being accessible and would be vulnerable.
Koye ijaduoye averred that the he was his preferred candidate.
To buttress this averment Buruji attached to his affidavit, an affidavit dated 1st April, 2015 sworn to by Koye Ijaduoye. Buruji alleged further that, a similar scheme was executed by Chief Obasanjo against a Nigerian citizen Mr Lanre Shitu who was abducted and transported to US on 27th November, 2000 even after a Nigerian court had refused an extradition request, as the request was only a cover for the real plan which was the abduction.
He contended that the AGF cannot act on any request from the US in view of the appeal at the Supreme Court over the decision of the Federal High Court in Lagos in 1998 which had restrained the AGF from acting on request from US authorities on these discredited allegations and from all indication the plan is set for a stage for the use of the incoming new administration of the All Progressives Congress to perpetrate illegality and to subvert the judicial system.
Buruji also alleged that Obasanjo developed contacts with agents of the US Homeland security in the great lakes from the period he was special envoy for United Nations, Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon for Peace and Security in the Great Lakes Region of African continent to initiate this project of abducting him and transporting him to the US.
In view of this scenario Buruji is seeking nine declarative orders from the court among which are: an order restraining the defendants and their agents from arresting, detaining, or otherwise effecting his abduction upon spurious allegation.
-An order directing the clerk of the National Assembly to accord him every facility and privileges due to him as a senator-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
-A declaration that arrangements being made by the defendants in collusion with United State of America security operatives in west Africa and his political opponents led General Olusegun Obasanjo to abduct him and forcibly transport him to United States of America on the basis of allegations which have been the subject of investigation by Interpol and litigation in competent court in United Kingdom and which he has been exonerated are illegal, unlawfuL, ultra vires and constitute breach of his fundamental right to freedom of movement as enshrined in Section 41 of constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
Meanwhile, sequel to an application filed before the court by Buruji’s lawyer, the presiding Judge Okon Abang has ordered that all the court process should be served on all the defendants.
As at the time of filling this report some of the defendants are about to file their defence.