You can be arrested, appeal court tells Kashamu

The court of appeal in Lagos says Buruji Kashamu, senator representing Ogun east, can be arrested if he has a case to answer.

In a judgement on Friday, the court nullified a decision of the federal high court, Abuja, which granted Kashamu a restraining order against the federal government and its agencies.

Last year, a court in the US had ruled that Kashamu must face trial for allegedly heading a heroin cartel in Chicago.

The National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had laid siege to Kashamu’s residence in Lagos for six days in a bid to arrest him.

But the senator accused some unnamed persons of plotting to forcibly abduct him for a trial that had been proven to be a case of mistaken identity.

Subsequently, the senator obtained the restraining order against the federal government from the federal high court, Abuja.

But the office of the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) appealed the ruling of the court.

In its judgment on Friday, the appeal court dismissed the senator’s preliminary objection against the government’s appeals as lacking merit.

It put aside the ruling of the trial court and held that Kashamu did not provide “concerte evidence” on his claims that there was a plot to abduct him.

The court also said Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), had powers to enforce the laws of the country.

But in response to the judgement, Kashamu said there was no extradition case against him in any court.

“My attention has been drawn to today’s judgment of the court of appeal sitting in Lagos in an appeal filed by the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) against the judgment delivered by the federal high court, Lagos, in my favour in a fundamental human rights enforcement suit,” the statement read.

“Let me state from the outset that contrary to the wrong impression being created by a section of the media, there is not any extradition matter against me in any court in Nigeria or abroad.

“The illegal move surreptitiously introduced by the powers-that-be after the 2015 abduction plot was exposed has been dismissed. That was in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/479/2015. The suit was dismissed on the 1st of July, 2015, for being an abuse of court process. Anything to the contrary is sheer mischief and over sensationalism by some reporters.

“Despite the fact that the British courts had exonerated me, I have an abiding faith and believe in our judiciary. We have many people in the judiciary from rich background and reputable families. They do not have to be judicial officers.

“But, today they are judicial officers because of the call of the Almighty Allah upon them. They sit in courts five days in a week, taking cases and writing judgments upon judgments in long hands. They deny themselves of the freedom that the rest of us enjoy. They cannot have friends and live their lives freely like the rest of us.

“Invariably, by accepting to do the job most of us cannot do, they are sacrificing a lot. They belong in the class of some of the best and finest men and women that a society can ever ask for; powerful people yet self-effacing with the fear of God. They know that even when they are judges, they are still conscious of the fact that they are also accountable to the Almighty Allah who is the ultimate judge.

“Despite the imperfections in the system, we should respect them because they represent the unseen hands and unheard voices contributing their quota to the development of our dear country. It is because of these unseen hand and unheard voices that Nigeria has not become a banana republic where injustice can be perpetrated with reckless abandon.

“Mischief makers and blackmailers should stop all the noise-making. I do not have anything to do with crime and criminalities. Those peddling this lie are merely playing the devil’s advocate.”