Court overrules extradition proceedings and nullifies arrest warrant of alleged drug baron Buruji Kashamu

A Federal High Court in Lagos has overruled the provisional warrant of arrest secured by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency seeking to extradite the Ogun East senator-elect, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, to the United States to face alleged drug trafficking charges.

The court equally made an order halting the extradition further proceedings in an application filed by the NDLEA before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Kashamu.

Kashamu, on Monday through his lawyers, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN) and Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, secured separate orders from both Justices Okon Abang and Ibrahim Buba of the Lagos Division of the court.

While Abang quashed the extradition proceedings and the provisional warrant of arrest issued by another judge of the Federal High Court, Buba restrained the NDLEA from arresting and arraigning Kashamu in furtherance of the extradition charges.

Oluyede had on Monday appeared before Buba with a fresh application seeking an order to nullify the provisional warrant of arrest obtained by the NDLEA against his client.

Oluyede, in a motion on notice, asked the court to nullify the NDLEA’s application to commence extradition proceedings against him in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS /479/2015 at a Federal High Court in Abuja.

The lawyer, while canvassing argument, pointed out that despite an earlier order made by Buba last Thursday, the NDLEA had not suspended action on the move to arrest, arraign and extradite Kashamu.

He said it would be in the interest of justice to grant the fresh application.

In opposition, however, NDLEA’s lawyer, O. Ichakpa, maintained that the agency had not taken any step to undermine the processes before the court.

But Buba, after listening to the arguments of both lawyers, ordered that the NDLEA “shall not in the face of subsisting judgement, orders of the court and processes filed and pending, enforce or put to effect the warrant of arrest dated April 25, 2015.”

The judge equally quashed the move to arraign Kashamu on the extradition process filed by the NDLEA on April 28, 2015.

Buba held that the restraining orders were necessary so as not to get conflicting orders whilst cases were pending and judgments or orders were also subsisting.

The judge subsequently adjourned till June 19 for further hearing of all applications including the committal proceedings instituted by Kashamu against the Attorney General of the Federation and the NDLEA Chairman, Ahmadu Glade.

In a similar vein, Abang, in a ruling on a separate application argued by Iziyon before him equally quashed the extradition proceedings and arrest warrant secured by the NDLEA on Kashamu.

Credit: Ramon Oladimej/Punch