Court did not stop your extradition, NDLEA tells Kashamu

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday told the Federal High Court, Abuja that no court in the country stopped the agency or any other security outfit from extraditing Senator Buruji Kashamu to the United States of America (USA) to face charges on drug-related crimes.

NDLEA stated that the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in 2010 only granted that any plan to extradite him by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) or the NDLEA to the USA must be in compliance with the extradition Act, 2004.

In a counter-affidavit filed by NDLEA in an Abuja court to oppose the claim of Kashamu that his extradition had been stopped in a judgment, the agency noted that it was not a respondent to a suit which Kashamu alleged it disobeyed and sought to commit it and its chairman for contempt.

The NDLEA, however, informed the court that in another suit filed by Kashamu in which it was joined as a defendant, it raised a preliminary objection to the effect that the person sued as “Chairman, Nigeria Law Enforcement Agency was a party unknown to Law.”

In the counter affidavit deposed to by one Rifkatu Philip Barde, a litigation officer with NDLEA, the agency stated that it was never at any point in the court judgment, restrained from performing its statutory duties especially in relation to Kashamu’s extradition.

The counter-affidavit read in part: “That Honourable Justice E. O. Abang in his judgment clearly stated that the delicate aspect of this case which the court must be extremely careful with here is that the allegations contained in the petitions against the applicant borders on allegations of commission of criminal offences by the applicant.

“That the police or any security agency cannot be restrained from discharging its statutory duty and that a court of law cannot restrain the police or security agencies from discharging their statutory functions.”

The NDLEA also maintained that the court did not grant a perpetual order of restriction in the matter or at large in favour of the applicant (Kashamu) in the court action he instituted in Lagos.

Justice Kolawole has, however, fixed February 16, 2017 for arguments in the matter.