The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has restrained the Federal Government from taking further steps to extradite Senator Buruji Kashamu to the United States of America on allegation of complicity in illicit drug trade.
Justice Okon Abang, in a judgment, on Thursday, held that neither the Federal Government nor any of its agents could validly initiate extradition proceedings against Kashamu in view of subsisting restraining orders and judgments in his favour, which had not been challenged by anyone or set aside by superior courts.
Abang noted that while the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation successfully obtained a judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, delivered on May 4, 2018, dismissing the restraining order in suit marked 508/2015, the AGF failed to appeal the other judgment in the suit marked 49/2010.
The judge particularly noted that the judgement given by the Federal High Court, Lagos on January 6, 2014 (in suit No:49/2010) and another judgment of July 1, 2016 given by the Federal High Court , Abuja (in suit No: 479/2015), which prohibited Kashamu’s extradition on account of the US drug allegation, are still subsisting.
The judgement was on a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/530/18 filed by Kashamu, with the Attorney General of the Federation and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency as defendants.
Kashamu had, in the suit challenged the propriety of a letter by Shehu Bodinga of the Central Control Unit in the AGF’s office, requesting the United States’ embassy in Nigeria to forward a fresh extradition application after the judgment by Justice Gabriel Kolawole (then of the Federal High Court, Abuja) in suit suit No: 479/2015 voiding an earlier extradition proceedings.
Justice Abang, in his judgement, noted that Justice Kolawole’s judgment, in nullifying the earlier extradition proceedings, was based on two judgments of the Federal High Court in suits Nos: 49/2010 and 508/2015, declaring as unlawful all attempts to extradite Kashamu in view of the judgements by two British courts which held that he was not the person involved in the drug crime in the US.
The judge noted that while the AGF successfully challenged the court’s decisions in suit 508/2015, which was set aside in the appeals marked: 1030 and 1030a on May 4, 2018, the AGF failed to appeal the other judgment in the suit No: 49/2010.
Justice Abang held that since the judgment in suit No: 49/2010 which contained a specific order restraining the AGF from exercising his power of extradition under the Extradition Act, was not challenged, it remains alive along with the restraining order.
The judge also held that since the subsequent judgment by Justice Kolawole was also not appealed, it remains subsisting and binding on all parties.
In the earlier part of the judgment, Justice Abang set aside the letter written by Bodinga, dated July 14 2016 on the grounds that the neither the AGF nor his agent has the power under any law to apply to a foreign country, with which Nigeria has extradition treaty, to bring a request for the extradition of a citizen of this country where that country has not made such an application.
The judge noted the decisions of the Court of Appeal in the two judgments, on which Justice Gabriel Kolawole was based, appeared conflicting.
He said the Court of Appeal’s decision of September 20/2018 dismissing the appeal marked: 479/2015, which was an appeal against the judgment in suit No: 49/2010 is the most recent decision, which he is bound to abide by.
According to the judge, “The fact that the restraining order in the judgment in suit 49/2010 dated January 6, 2014 is still valid and subsisting, it is not a matter of sentiment.
“To appeal the judgment is the lawful step to take. To take any other steps against the judgment order than appealing is unlawful, and an exercise of executive lawlessness.
“It is my hope that the AGF, an office created by the Constitution, the Chief Law Officer of the federation, who is also the chief minister in the temple of justice, the conscience of the society, should toe the path of the law and should not violate the laws of the land.”
The immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, had filed an extradition application in the Federal High Court in Abuja on May 28, 2015 upon a request by the United States of America asking the Nigerian government to surrender Kashamu to face trial on one count of illicit drugs pending against him before the United States District Court for the Northern Illinois, Eastern Division.
But delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Abang, who presided over the fresh suit, ruled that as much as a January 6, 2014 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos remained subsisting and had not been set aside, no fresh extradition application could be made against the former senator.
