A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Apo, Abuja has set aside the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) expulsion of Senator Buruji Kashamu (Ogun East) and Ogun State Chairman of the party, Engr Adebayo Dayo.
Justice Valentine Ashi, in a ruling on Wednesday, held that purported expulsion was unlawful because it was done in flagrant disobedience of a subsisting order of the court made on December 7, 2017, which was restated on January 9, 2018, directing parties not to do anything to jeopardise the hearing of the pending case.
Justice Ashi, who nullified the expulsion, also set aside the PDP’s letter, dated August 1, 2018 conveying the expulsion to Kashamu and Dayo.
The judge ordered PDP’s Chairman, Uche Secondus to, within 48 hours of his receipt of the court order, to show cause why the court’s disciplinary measure should not be deployed against him for aiding his party to violate a valid court order.
In the alternative, why he (Secondus) should not be referred to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice for prosecution, before the Magistrates’ Court of the FCT, for obstructing the course of justice.
Details later…
Tag: kashamu
-
Court voids PDP’s expulsion of Kashamu, Ogun Chair
-
2019: PDP writes INEC, DSS, Police over expulsion of Kashamu, others
The National Headquarters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has formally written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Department of State Security Service (DSS) and the Police Command in Ogun State, notifying each of them of the expulsion of Senator Buruji Kashamu and three others from the party.
Recall that Senator Kashamu representing Ogun East Senatorial district at the Senate, factional Chairman of PDP in Ogun State, Engr. Bayo Dayo, and two others were expelled from the party weeks ago by the PDP National leadership for alleged anti-party activities but Kashamu and Dayo rejected the expulsion, dismissing it last Thursday as a ruse and illegality that shall not stand.
The Senator and Dayo Bayo insisted that they remained full – ledge member of PDP, saying a subsisting court order protects their membership.
However, in a letter by the PDP National Legal Adviser, Emmanuel Enoidem, dated August 1 and addressed separately to the trio of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, the State Director of DSS and the Commissioner of Police in the state, the party said the expelled persons have ceased to be members of PDP.
In the said letter, the party recalled that the National Executive Committee (NEC) at its 80th meeting held on July 23, expelled the quartet of Kashamu, the factional state chairman and secretary, Bayo Dayo and Semiu Sodipo, respectively and Segun Seriki, for “various infractions and violations of express provisions of the constitution of the party 2017 (as amended).”
“Grateful, we write to bring to your notice and information that on July 23, 2018, the 80th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) expelled Senator Buruji Kashamu, Mr. Semiu Sodipo, Engr. Bayo Dayo and Segun Seriki, from the party for various infractions and violations of express provisions of the Constitution of the party 2017 (as amended).
“Accordingly, they have ceased to be members of our party forthwith and lost all rights and or privileges, to act or represent the party in any capacity whatsoever. The extract of the 80th meeting of the NEC is attached for your perusal,” the letter reads.
-
Ekiti poll: Hold Fayose, Makarfi for PDP’s defeat – Kashamu
Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District (PDP) on the floor of the Senate, Kashamu Buruji has heaped blames on Governor Ayodele Fayose and former chairman of the caretaker committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Makarfi for the loss of the party in the July 14 Ekiti governorship to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The senator at the weekend said outgoing Governor Ayodele Fayose’s arrogance led to PDP’s defeat.
He said: “How would the PDP have won when the former interim Caretaker Chairman of the party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, allowed Governor Fayose to drive away other stakeholders in the party in Ekiti State and in the South West? After driving away all the bigwigs and stakeholders in Ekiti State, they could not but work against the party.
“Makarfi and others encouraged him to perpetrate all manner of illegalities and the Prince Uche Secondus-led NWC inherited him and never really did anything to rein him in. They were sold the lies that he could do it all alone.”
According to the lawmaker, the election was a referendum on Fayose, not the PDP.
“The good people of Ekiti State wanted to do away with anything Fayose and that was what happened. That is why he lost even in his own local government. It is not that the people do not like PDP. They still like PDP but detest Fayose and his antics. He is cancerous to the PDP and since the leadership of the party could not deal with him, the good people of Ekiti State simply helped us to remove him.
“All the political tokenism of frying garri, jumping on okada and going to eat at bukas are not what would impact on the life of the average Ekiti man or woman. To what extent has he gone to make life better for the average Ekiti man or woman? Has he provided a conducive environment for them to realise their full potentials? The people saw through his deceit and rejected him,” Kashamu said.
Kashamu said the PDP must be repositioned and restructured to accommodate all well-meaning leaders and stakeholders.
“There is no notable leader of the party in the South West that Fayose has not insulted. Most of our leaders do not want to have anything to do with him. Should the party continue to rely on him, the PDP will continue to lose woefully.
“Unless and until the PDP starts to field contented Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in their businesses or careers, the government of the day will continue to beam their searchlight on the mediocre that enriched themselves through public office. Given his unimpeachable integrity as an individual, President Muhammadu Buhari would continue to ride high on the horse of morality and become more politically advantageous over them.”
The senator urged Ekiti State Governor-elect Kayode Fayemi to “restore the values of Ekiti State that have been bastardised by Fayose. The people have invested their trust in him and he should not let them down. Politics and governance should be about the people and not parties.”
-
Extradition: Kashamu heads to S’Court, seeks overturn of A’Court ruling
The senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, has headed for the Supreme Court seeking to overturn last Friday’s judgment of the Court of Appeal, which reversed a restraining order that he secured in 2015 against the Attorney General of the Federation and several law enforcement agencies in the country.
Kashamu had in 2015 secured a judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos restraining the AGF and others from “abducting” him and forcefully “transporting” him to the United States of America to stand trial over alleged drug offences before Judge Norgle.
The senator had then, through his lawyer, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede, told Justice Okon Abang that he had uncovered a plot by his political enemies to manipulate law enforcement agencies in the country to abduct and transport him to the US.
Justice Abang, in a May 27, 2015 judgment, restrained all the defendants in the suit, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency from abducting and transporting Kashamu to the US, holding that he had been exonerated of the alleged crime.
But following an appeal by the AGF, the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, in a lead judgment by Justice Nimpar Yagarta on Friday, overturned Justice Abang’s judgment.
The appellate court ruled that Kashamu’s claim of a plot to abduct him was speculative and inadmissible in the face of the provisions of the Evidence Act.
Displeased with the judgment, the senator, through his lawyers has, therefore, headed for the Supreme Court, seeking the apex court’s intervention.
In the notice of appeal, his counsel insisted that Kashamu’s affidavit before the Court of Appeal was full of facts showing the conclusion of a plot by the AGF and others to abduct and transport him to the US to face trial over alleged offences in respect of which he had been exonerated.
The counsel contended that the appellate court was wrong for holding that Kashamu ought to have waited for the alleged plot to be hatched before approaching the court to seek redress.
“There was uncontroverted evidence before the lower court that in 2000, during the Presidency of Olusegun Obasanjo, an illegal abduction was carried out against a Nigerian citizen with the assistance of government officials and with the consent of the said President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The lower court was wrong in failing to see that all the information that was available to the appellant was enough to justify an apprehension of likelihood of breach of his fundamental right to liberty through his abduction by the respondents and transportation to the USA,” Kashamu’s lawyers contended.
-
Kashamu not above the law, can be arrested – Appeal Court
The Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal on Friday nullified a ruling by the Federal High Court (FHC) which prohibited the arrest of Buruji Kashamu by Nigerian law enforcement agencies.
The court said the senator is not above the law and should be arrested if there is a need.
The appeal court panel led by Yargata Nimpar overturned the ruling which was delivered by Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in 2015.
Kashamu, a serving senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, approached Abang for the enforcement of his fundamental rights, saying he had uncovered a purported plot by Nigerian security agencies to abduct and extradite him to the United States.
Kashamu is being sought in the U.S. on drugs charges, although he had continued to deny the allegations, saying it was, at worse, a case of mistaken identity.
In May 2015, the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) laid a siege to Kashamu’s residence in Lagos in a bid to arrest and send him to the U.S. to face drugs charges. For the ensuing six days, Kashamu reportedly locked himself inside a toilet and refused to submit himself to federal authorities.
His lawyers successfully prevailed on Abang to grant an order forbidding the NDLEA from carrying out the arrest. The agency subsequently withdrew its personnel, ending the six-day siege.
The office of the Attorney-General of the Federation filed several submissions before the FHC, seeking to arrest Kashamu for extradition. But the attempts were frustrated by several injunctions granted by Abang, prompting the AGF to seek redress at the Court of Appeal.
Kashamu had argued before the FHC that there were plots to arrest him and take him to the U.S. over a matter for which he had been cleared by judicial authorities in the United Kingdom between the late 1990s and early 2000s.
But U.S. authorities insisted that Kashamu must come to the country to face drugs charges for which several of his alleged co-conspirators had been tried, convicted and jailed.
In 2016, a U.S. Court of Appeal in Chicago, Illinois, ruled that Kashamu must answer his drugs allegations in U.S. courts.
Despite all the controversies surrounding Kashamu’s case, the U.S. authorities have not publicly disclosed whether they sought Kashamu’s extradition or not. But some legal analysts said there was no need to make such request public, adding that the NDLEA’s move to arrest him and send him to the U.S. was enough grounds to conclude that the U.S. was interested in the matter.
Consequently, the Court of Appeal ruled that the appeal has merit and set aside the order of perpetual injunction secured by Kashamu.
However, Kashamu in a swift reaction to the ruling on Friday afternoon said the judgement had nothing to do with his extradition. He insisted that he had no pending extradition case anywhere in Nigeria.
This was revealed in a statement by Kashamu’s media aide, Austin Oniyokor.
Read full statement below:
PRESS STATEMENT
KASHAMU: I’VE NO EXTRADITION CASE IN 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.
Let me state from the outset that contrary to the wrong impression being created by a section of the media, there isn’t any extradition matter against me in any court in Nigeria or abroad. The illegal move surreptitiously introduced by the powers-that-beafter 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.
As journalists and judicial reporters who are expected to seek and report the truth at all times, they should know that there is NO extradition case against me anywhere. The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice appealed against the judgment of the Federal High Court in the fundamental human rights enforcement matter comprised in Suit No.FHC/L/CS/508/2015 which I had instituted in 2015 upon becoming aware of the surreptitious moves by certain persons to abduct me illegally and transport me to the U.S.A. without recourse to the rule of law.
In its judgment in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/508/2015,the Federal High Courtrestrained the Federal Government, its agents and agencies from abducting and forcibly transporting me to the United States of America over the same allegations that two British courts had adjudicated upon and found that to bea case of mistaken identity.
So, clearly what was appealed and decided upon by the Court of Appeal today has nothing to do with extradition. Rather, it was about the failed 2015 abduction.
Let me reiterate that in the face of the law, I do not have any extradition case to answer. Shun of all political manipulations and wizardry in Nigeria where political opponents pull down people to climb up the political ladder, I do not have any extradition case to answer.
I wish to say for the umpteenth time that there is no way any extradition proceedings can be brought against me in the face of the law. What I have been fighting is the attempt to abduct or kidnap me in the guise of an extradition. It is a matter of public record that the purported extradition case that was filed against me in May 2015 was dismissed by the Federal High Court, Abuja, for being an illegality. It could not stand the test of the law. The case could not have seen the light of the day in Nigeria or any civilized country. That was the point the trial judge, the Honourable Justice Gabriel Kolawole made in the judgment when he described the incident as “a show of shame”. He found it incomprehensible that any government official or agency could want to take any step or collaborate with some foreign agents under any guise to perpetrate an illegality after several courts had given judgments against such an action.
So, in the face of the law, that case cannot be brought again! Any other talk or insinuations about a non-existent extradition only exists in the imagination of the mischief-makers. Therefore, there cannot be any other extradition but abduction and an illegality.This is even more so when the judgment of the British Courts that found the allegation against me to be a case of mistaken identity was not appealed. If a court of competent jurisdiction has pronounced that I AM NOT the person who committed the offence and same verdict has been upheld by our own courts, there is no way this finding and pronouncements of the court can be jettisoned for illegality.
It is this illegality that the Senate frowned at in a resolution passed on the 11th of April, 2017.
The Senate through its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions resolved, “That the concerned agencies and authorities be advised to stop threatening or carrying out any activities to extradite Senator BurujiKashamu to the United States of America for prosecution, and that the courts be allowed to handle the various aspects of the case before them without any interference.”
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. But I take refuge in the Almighty Allah Subwana ta Allah. He is my shepherd and shield. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil.
In the meantime, my lawyers have filed a Notice of Appeal and a Motion for injunction pending the determination of the appeal to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. And I trust that the apex court will do justice. I also wish to use this medium to appeal to all my associates, lovers, supporters and leaders to remain calm. The truth shall prevail over falsehood as light triumphs over darkness.
Signed
Senator Buruji Kashamu
Ogun East Senatorial District
-
BREAKING: Appeal Court reserves ruling on Kashamu’s extradition
The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by the Federal Government seeking the extradition of the senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kashamu, to the United States of America.
The Federal Government claimed to have received a request by the US Government to deliver Kashamu up for prosecution for his alleged role in an illicit drug deal in the US.
But Kashamu had, in 2015, secured two separate judgments by Justices Okon Abang and Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court restraining the Federal Government from delivering the senator to the US.
But the Attorney General of the Federation approached the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn the judgments of Justices Abang and Buba, to pave the way for Kashamu’s extradition.
Counsel for the AGF, Emeka Ngige (SAN), told the appellate court on Thursday that Kashamu concealed material facts before Justices Abang and Buba, where he obtained restraining orders against the Federal Government.
According to him, Kashamu’s suits, which were decided by Justices Abang and Buba, were based on mere hearsay, contending that the two lower court judges miscarried justice.
He claimed that Justices Abang and Buba failed to evaluate the documentary evidence placed before them before giving their verdicts.
Ngige urged the three-man Appeal Court panel, presided over by Justice Joseph Ikhegh, to overturn the two judgments and give force to Kashamu’s extradition.
But he was opposed by Kashamu’s lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who insisted that the decisions by the high court judges were in order.
Fagbemi urged the court to dismiss the Federal Government’s appeal.
The court, after the parties had argued and adopted their written addresses, reserved judgment in the appeal till a date to be communicated to the parties.
-
Court fixes March 8 for hearing on Kashamu’s extradition
The Court of Appeal has fixed March 8 for the adoption of final argument in the extradition suit involving Senator Buruji Kashamu (PDP, Ogun).
The Federal Government is seeking an order of the court to extradite the serving senator to the United States of America for trial in an alleged drug related offence.
The court fixed the date for the adoption of final argument after regularizing the processes filed by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) out of time.
Kashamu’s legal team led by Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) had objected to adoption of the final argument at the last adjourned date on the ground that the reply brief of the Federal Government was not served on time granted by the court.
Emeka Ngige (SAN) who led the Federal Government legal team admitted that the reply brief was filed out of time but applied to the Justice Joseph Ikhegh-led three man panel for regularization of the reply brief, an application which was granted.
Consequently, Thursday, March 8 was fixed for definite hearing of the appeal after which a date would be fixed for judgement.
-
Kashamu rejects suspension, says he has right to vote at convention
The Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Buruji Kashamu, has rejected his suspension from the Peoples Democratic Party.
He said his suspension in the early hours of Saturday by members of the National Caretaker Committee of the party was illegal.
Buruji said he was neither accused of committing any crime not asked to come and defend himself before any committee.
He, therefore, wondered why he would just be suspended by the party without following the rules.
The National Caretaker Committee of the party led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi had announced Buruji’s suspension, which it said would last for one month.
No reason was given for the decision of the party.
But our correspondent gathered that the party took the decision following the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had on Wednesday, struck out a suit filed by Kashamu, to stop the party from taking any disciplinary action against him.
-
Court rejects Kashamu’s suit to stop PDP’s disciplinary action
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday struck out a suit filed by the senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Buruji Kashamu, to stop his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, from taking any disciplinary action against him.
Delivering judgment, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba struck out the suit after upholding PDP’s preliminary objection challenging its competence and validity.
The court rejected Kashamu’s contention that his referral by the PDP to the Chief Tom Ikimi-led Disciplinary Committee of the party, among other disciplinary actions already and being planned to be taken against him, violated the orders made by the court on August 10 and September 10, 2017 in a pending suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/732/2017.
Justice Dimgba held that the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/732/2017 being an ongoing one, Kashamu’s suit founded on it was hasty and premature.
-
Presidential ambition: ‘Fayose is cantankerous, bent on destroying PDP’– Kashamu
The Senator representing Ogun East, Senator Buruji Kashamu, Thursday rubbished the 2019 presidential ambition of Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose describing the governor as a confusionist.
Kashamu also labelled Fayose as the number one destroyer of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The lawmaker, who reacted to Fayose’s presidential campaign launch in Abuja, noted that the governor was only showing Nigerians how unreliable he is.
He described as a huge joke Fayose’s presidential ambition insisting that “I tell you Fayose is not bidding for any presidential position come 2019.”
Kashamu said: “He is a confusionist and number one destroyer of the party because how on earth would somebody who agreed with other party chieftains that the presidential ticket of the party for 2019 should be zoned to the North, now turn around to start campaigning for the same ticket as a Southerner and particularly as a South westerner to the detriment of the National Chairmanship ticket of the party already zoned to the area.
“Lovers of our great party and politically minded Nigerians generally, should by this action of Fayose see him as the number one destroyer of the party and the most cantankerous politician in the polity who can at any time abuse anybody and go against agreed plans at any time.
“I believe that am not the only one disturbed by Fayose’s agbero brand of politics but all political stakeholders in the land including those who followed him from Ekiti to grace his campaign launch because everybody knows that he is going nowhere come 2019 but just exercising his right in a funny way as a joker.”
Kashamu slammed the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party under the leadership of Senator Ahmed Makarfi for allegedly issuing him query unreasonably.
The lawmaker wondered why he was accused of instigating crisis in the Ogun State chapter of the party when he was in Abuja as a Senator representing the good people of Ogun East Senatorial District.
He claimed that the query served him by the party which has been responded to has no substance but a pure mischief and a product of malice.
He claimed that Makarfi who heads the party as National Chairman, Caretaker Committee, wanted to corner the 2019 presidential ticket of the party.
He also accused Makarfi of working surreptitiously to ease out those he felt could challenge him.
He said, “In fact, the December convention of the party may not hold due to Makarfi’s ambition. He is a chameleon pretending to have the interest of the party at heart but secretly executing his own personal agenda.”