Buruji Kashamu
A Federal High Court in Lagos on
Wednesday restrained security agencies in Nigeria from unlawfully
arresting and forcibly transporting the senator-elect for Ogun East
Senatorial District, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, to the United States to stand
trial for alleged drug-trafficking offences.
Justice Okon Abang, in a judgment on
Wednesday, also ordered the unfettered swearing-in of Kashamu as a
senator with all the attached privileges since his victory in the March
28, 2015 election had not been upturned.
The judge declared as illegal any attempt
to abduct or forcibly transport Kashamu to the US to stand trial in
relation to drug-trafficking allegations from which he had been
exonerated by two British courts.
Abang
also granted Kashamu’s prayer that having earlier obtained the judgment
of a Nigerian court on January 6, 2014, barring his arrest and
extradition to the US, and the judgment having not been set aside, the
respondents could not arrest and extradited him to the US.
Kashamu had instituted the fundamental
rights enforcement action in April alleging that there was a plot by his
political opponents, led by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to use
Nigerian security agencies to abduct and forcibly transport him to the
US to stand trial before Judge Norgle.
He sought a declaration of the court that
the move amounted to a violation of his rights to personal liberty,
freedom of association and freedom of movement as protected by sections
35, 40 and 41 of the constitution.
The respondents in the suit are the
Inspector General of Police; the Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement
Agency; Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; Director
General, Department of State Service; the Interpol National Central
Bureau; and the Attorney General of the Federation.
Others are the Clerk of the National
Assembly; the National Security Adviser to the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria; Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related
Offences Commission; Nigeria Customs Services; the Nigeria Immigration
Service; and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Abang, in his judgment, held that Kashamu
had reasonable cause of action and dismissed the objection of all the
respondents that the suit was merely speculative.
The court in upholding Kashamu’s claims,
said he had shown enough cause to be apprehensive that the respondents
had plans to abduct him.
“The entire claims of the applicant are within the ambit of Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution.
“If the applicant is abducted, kidnapped
and taken to the US by force, without the respondents complying with the
Extradition Act, it means that he is taken away without his consent and
that would constitute a breach of his fundamental right to personal
liberty and freedom of movement as enshrined in sections 35 and 40 of
the 1999 constitution. This is so, whether or not the conspiracy is a
criminal offence,” Abang held.
The judge dismissed the argument that the
NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Giade, was not a juristic person and could not
be sued. The court equally awarded N10,000 as cost against Giade.
Meanwhile, the NDLEA had indicated its
readiness to abide by the order of court asking it to withdraw the more
than 50 armed operatives it drafted to Kashamu’s Lagos home since
Saturday, May 23, 2014.
The agency made the promise in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju, on Wednesday.
It, however, failed to specify when its operatives would vacate Kashamu’s house.
As of 12pm on Wednesday when one of our
correspondents visited Kashamu’s residence, the gun-wielding NDLEA
officials were still there.
Some men of the agency were also seen lying on mats under the shade of a tree in front of the house.
Oladipo Omotosho Street, where the house is located and other adjoining streets were condoned off.
No comments:
Post a Comment