May-May Nwa' Africa

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, on Tuesday described those linking him with killings in Southern part of the state as mischief makers.

 

El-Rufai said he is neither a religious bigot nor ethnic jingoist who will organise crisis in his state.

This came just as the governor called for more funding for the security agencies in the yet to be passed 2017 budget, to enable them appropriately tackle internal security challenges.

El-Rufai spoke when he received the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on Southern Kaduna Crisis at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House on Tuesday.

Briefing the Senate Committee led by former Governor of Kano State, Kabir Gaya, the governor said his government inherited three main problems of cattle rustling, urban gang called “Shara Suka” and communal killings.

 

He said, “When we came in we met three main problems on ground, cattle rustling, urban gang and communal killings.

“As the chief security officer of the state, we really do not have control over the security agencies, we have committed so much in funding security agencies in the state. We have bought bullet proof vest and vans for security agencies. We have committed N4 billion in support of security agencies in the state.

“The state government will continue to support the security agencies in the state even though it is the responsibility of the federal government.”

He, however, called for additional support for security agencies in the 2017 budget, saying, “there is need for training and retraining of security personnel and the purchase of additional security equipment.”

On the Southern Kaduna killings, the Governor assured the Senate that he would deploy resources to facilitate the take-off of the proposed military garrison in the area.

via THE NATION

The Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency, CESJET, has urged the Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry, Enugu State, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka and the Founder, Synagogue Church Of All Nations, SCOAN, Prophet TB Joshua to admonish their followers against adhering to the hate message of Apostle Johnson Suleman of the Omega Fire Ministries, OFM.

 

Suleman has been in the news lately for allegedly calling on his members to kill any Fulani herdsman  found around him and his church.

 

His message led to an invitation from the Department of State Services, DSS,  after it failed to arrest him  in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital last week Wednesday.

In an open letter to Fr Mbaka and TB Joshua, titled “Hate Sermons: Urgent Need For Prayers and Understanding, In the Light of Prevailing Religious Tensions In Nigeria,” the group alleged that Suleman was acting out a “script of external enemies by inciting Christians in Nigeria into a religious war.”

The letter reads, ”We send you fraternal and warm greetings from our secretariat in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and pray Almighty God to keep blessing you with strength and wisdom as you serve the quest of Nigerians and the rest of mankind for salvation.

“By way of brief introduction, Center For Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJECT) is a Non-governmental, Non-Profit, Non-partisan and Non-religious organization based in Nigeria. We are basically concerned with advocacy for social justice, equity and fairness as well as monitor ethics of transparency in public governance.

 

“We have observed with bewilderment recent events in our dear country, Nigeria and after a thorough analysis, we have come to the painful conclusion that current happenings in Nigeria are quite unpleasant. And there is the imperative for collective actions to nip in the bud, any possibility of potential mass conflicts and crisis likely to sprout from it.

“My Lordships, you are already aware Nigeria is on the cliffhanger at the moment; burdened by agitations, mutual distrust and suspicions, viral criminality as well as crises of all dimensions, which in some cases, have mutated into violent conflicts.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria led by President Muhammedu Buhari has been strained and overstretched in its attempts to contain the crises in different parts of the country in the face of dwindling economic fortunes. Therefore, we were perplexed to notice the infusion of a delicate and extremely sensitive issue like religion into the troubling afflictions of the country.

“We consider it particularly very urgent to write you this open letter based on our understanding of your respectful status in Christendom in Nigeria. We are equally encouraged by our implied assumption that you are aware of certain supposed “Men of God” who have stoke the fire of discord and overheated the polity with bile sermons, utterances and discussions from the pulpit which have a strong potency to spark religious crisis of genocidal magnitude in Nigeria.

 

“Initially, this organization was not too worried with the divisions publicly manifest in the disorderliness, in-fighting and leadership tussles which have characterized the Body of Christ in Nigeria in recent times. We had hoped the concerned leaders would devote time and energy to resolve these internal squabbles in the nearest future in the interest of Christianity.

“But we cannot pretend not to know that this negative trend has not only spiraled outside of the Body of Christ in Nigeria, but pulling the strings very hard in attempts to destroy Nigeria by pitching members of one faith against another.

“On the front burner of national issues today is the acerbic sermons and utterances credited to Apostle Johnson Suleiman of the Omega Ministries, which has generated very fearful and deadly interpretations between adherents of Christianity and Islam across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. He is not alone in these hate and inciting sermons from the altar.

“But Apostle Suleiman’s inciting comments happen to be the trouble at the moment. Initially, he opposed the Bill on prohibiting extreme religious views or preachments sponsored in Kaduna state and placed a curse of death on Governor Nasir el-Rufai. But it never bothered anybody because it had personal effect. But invoking the powers of God Almighty to herd Christians into killing and beheading all Fulani herdsmen at sight is not only ungodly, but mocks the thinking of orthodox Christianity and reflects more the thoughts and actions of Nigeria’s external enemies bent on destabilizing the country by causing crisis of genocidal proportion in Nigeria, worse than Somalia or Sudan. In his latest outing, we can see a nexus in his still opposition to the Bill.

“Calling for the mass killings of members of an ethnic group- the Fulani herdsmen, who pasture their cattle because of the transgressions of a few criminals suspected to be their kinsmen, is tantamount to exterminating a whole race. This action would also be interpreted in Christian ethos as battling against flesh and blood, which true servants of God, (including you) have repeatedly warned us that we cannot win any war against the spirit.

“Similarly, we deem it extremely bad faith the tendency of some anointed and venerated clergy, who are advocating for the extra-judicial killing of Boko Haram terrorists in the presumption that they launched war against Christianity. But the same Boko Haram insurgents also slaughtered fellow Muslims in their rage of raids. The bickering in the aftermath of the split in Boko Haram leadership between Abubakar Shekau and Abu Musab Al Barnewi sufficiently placed this notion in public domain. But in all, does it not betray the essence of being a good brother’s keeper, love of neighbor and respect for sanctity of human life as decreed by God Almighty for anointed men of God to mount the pulpit to preach internecine wars with the religious card?

“We believe Apostle Suleiman is acting the script of external enemies by inciting Christians in Nigeria into a religious war. And he goes further to blackmail the Federal Government into shielding himself by instigating Christians to perceive his impending arrest and interrogation by security agents to unearth the masked forces behind his actions as persecution of the church and Christians in Nigeria.

“My Lordships, may you understand that it is germane for Apostle Suleiman and all other such “Men of God” to know they are not above laws of Nigeria and should be humble enough to submit themselves to security scrutiny. His confessions would either enable security agencies investigate and track people who are destabilization agents in Nigeria for external forces or exonerate him.

“We plead your understanding in using your respected positions and statuses in talking to your congregations, adherents and followers not to be hoodwinked by the likes of Apostle Suleiman and such “Men of God” into deploying the anger they have deliberately instigated in Nigerian Christians to shield themselves from probe of their suspicious and ungodly acts.

“We feel compelled to write you because of the respect, honour, integrity and acceptance you have earned amongst Christians and Muslims alike, within and outside Nigeria. We perceive in you, anointed men of God with the best credentials and wisdom to save the body of Christ at this crucial time on this sensitive, but potentially explosive religious incitement. We are further encouraged by your non- discriminatory roles as father to both the orphans, the vulnerable and the widows, much as banking on your vast knowledge of humanitarian complexities countries face when such religious matters are allowed to explode in violent clashes to promptly.

“If you kindly devote attention to this cause, you would save Nigeria from a clearly masterminded plot to destroy our country by enemies waiting in the wings to fuel genocide in the country on the platform of religion. Acting thus, you shall also save the entire body of Christ from disintegrating and embarrassing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who laid down His life for us.

“My Lordships’ would wish to remember that the break-up of Nigeria was predicted for 2015, but the Almighty God saw us through the trying times, but the same forces have not relented. Having studied the sociological psychology of Nigerians on religion, they have realized sparking a religions crisis would instantly actualize this prophesied break-up. The devil is surely at work and we must put on our shield of prayers and not guns to overcome this moment of torment to defeat the devil and his agents.”

via Daily Post

The quartet of Senate President, Bukola Saraki; his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu; House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara; and his deputy, Lasun Yusuf, have been accused of financial fraud totaling N630,125,499.90. The accusation was made by an advocacy group, Citizens Action to Take Back Nigeria (CATBAN), which said the four principal officers of the National Assembly executed the fraud by pressuring and using the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to provide them with accommodation. This is in spite of the fact that the monetization policy of the Federal Government bars all agencies from using taxpayers money for to meet personal demands of public officers outside the provisions of the law.

 

An independent investigation it conducted, disclosed CATBAN, showed that in March 2016, the four principal officers of the National Assembly approached the management of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to provide them with residential accommodation. This, it said, was sequel to a plan perfected by an agent acting between the National Assembly and FCDA to steal money via dubious accommodation requests.

 The requests, revealed CATBAN, were approved within 48 hours and followed with fund disbursement, an indication of the desperation to quickly get the money. The four principal officers added CATBAN, then presented companies that doubled as estate agents and property owners for the exercise. The companies used were Gogetit Investment Limited, which used a Zenith Bank account to receive the money, Legendark Consult Limited, which used a Guaranty Trust Bank account to reeive its own share, and Pitch Global Services, which has an account domiciled with Heritage Bank.

Through the four companies, CATBAN said it found that the sum of N630,125,499.90 was fraudulently paid by the FCDA for phoney renting, renovation and furnishing of four properties as official residences for Messrs. Saraki, Ekweremadu, Dogara and Lasun.

Messrs. Saraki and Dogara, the group noted, presented residential properties owned by them as rented houses, while Messrs. Ekweremadu and Lasun did not present any residential property, but collected their share of the money. The Senate President, for example, presented a property acquired while he was governor of Kwara State for which he was illegally paid a total sum of N200million.

 For the property, which is located at No. 48 Lake Chad Crescent in Abuja’s Maitama District, Mr. Saraki received N113,095,238.00 and N11,904,761.90 in Value Added Tax (VAT) as rent.

For furnishing, he received N67,857,142.86 and VAT of N7,142,857.14.

On his part, the House of Representatives Speaker presented a property built for him by a controversial property developer also known as Alhaji AA Oil.  The house is located at 9 Persian Gulf Close, off Euphrates Street, Wuse 2, Abuja, the building illegally fetched Mr. Dogara N73m and VAT of N7m as rent. For furnishing, the Speaker creamed off N63m and VAT of N6m giving him an aggregate of N150m.

Deputy Senate President, Mr. Ekweremadu, who did not bother to present a property walked away with N90m and VAT of N9m a s rent, N45,084,285.72 plus VAT of N4,745,714.28 for furnishing, leaving him with a not exactly shoddy aggregate of N150m. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, like Mr. Ekweremadu, did not present a property but netted a total of N130million.

 According to CATBAN’s investigation, Mr. Lasun illegally got N62m and N6,571,428.58 in VAT for rent, while pocketing N55, 190,476.18 and VAT of N5,809,523.82 for furnishing

CATBAN noted that the discoveries made during its investigation have put a huge question mark on the integrity of the National Assembly leadership and brought into sharper focus the sweeping corruption afflicting the country. CATBAN argued that the affected principal officers must be made to refund the illegally taken sums.

“Based on the above, we demand an immediate refund of our taxpayers’ money stolen by these principal officers and subsequently call on the Nigerian Police Force and all relevant security agencies to wade into the situation and ensure that justice is served. We also want to remind all senators and members of House of Representatives that they are duty bound to ensure appropriate sanctions against their colleagues, who have soiled the image of the National Assembly,” said CATBAN.

The group warned that if members of the National Assembly fail to apply appropriate action against the affected officers, it will mobilise Nigerians to protest at the National Assembly Complex to demand appropriate action.

CATBAN argued that the National Assembly has all its statutory earning and allowances properly fixed and spelt out by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Act, 2002.

The law, CATBAN added, gives the National Assembly the power and control over its own budget and expenditure, including payment of all forms of allowances. The RMAFC, observed the group, calculates the remuneration packages for political, public and judicial office holders is calculated in relation to the percentages of their basic salaries.

“For example, each Nigerian Senator receives 150% of his/her annual basic salary as accommodation allowance, while each member of our Federal House of Representatives gets the same equivalent.

“In view of this, the appropriate accommodation allowance for the Senate President is N3,720,000.00 and that of his Deputy is N3,451,500.00. In the case of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, his accommodation allowance is N3,705,000.00, while his deputy is entitled to N3,435,000.00,” noted CATBAN.

The group said it established the fact that the National Assembly has always been well taken care of in terms of receipt of allocations and allowances, which implies that all members, including the principal officers of both chambers, have been promptly receiving the statutory allocations, including for accommodation.

There is crisis in the North-West caucus of the House of Representatives, following its alleged endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s presumed interest for the 2019 Presidency.
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Although, the President still has over two years to serve his term, and has not indicated any intention to re-contest the position in 2019, the Leader of the 94-member caucus, Honourable Alhassan Ado Doguwa, had after a meeting last week Wednesday, told Newsmen that the caucus had unanimously endorsed Buhari, who is from the zone, to bid again for the Presidency, in 2019.
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Doguwa said: “2019 will come, and we are also going to be there; we will be able to engage it as it comes. I want to tell you that Nigerians can’t afford to miss Mr. President in 2019, as it comes.”
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THISDAY however, gathered that members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, were not happy with the impression that the caucus had endorsed the President.
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The five-member PDP caucus, all of them from Kaduna State, Honourables Yakubu Barde, Gideon Gwani, Simon Arabor, Shehu Garba, and Sunday Marshall Kaltung, were up in arms at the weekend.

The Minority Whip, Barde, confirmed that the caucus did not endorse Buhari for the 2019 Presidential polls.
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“I am of the PDP, so that is not possible. PDP has its own candidate for the polls, and we would soon present the candidate,” he told THISDAY in a telephone interview yesterday.
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Also speaking, Kaltung corroborated Barde, by saying the issue of endorsement of Buhari never happened.
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A PDP member, who spoke off the record, said the main issue discussed at the caucus meeting, was the under-representation of the zone in the 2017 budget.
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The source said: “Many of our roads are becoming death traps, and we want to see how we can strategise, to attract more infrastructure to the region. We also want more attention for security.”
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He added, that it would be funny for anyone to endorse the President at this time, explaining that Lawmakers needed to be sensitive to the mood of Nigerians.
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According to him: “The President is being bashed in the public space for the hardships Nigerians are dealing with, so to support him for 2019, would be like insulting the citizens.”
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Another PDP member, said no member of his party could be seen as endorsing Buhari for 2019.

The member from Kaduna State, who asked not to be named, accused the Chief Whip of misrepresenting the caucus.
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Another Lawmaker, noted that Doguwa simply used the statement to slight Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, the former Governor of Kano State, who is also believed to be interested in the nation’s top position.
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President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, has declared that he is not against the emergence of the new mega party so long as it pushes Nigeria’s economy forward.

He made the declaration during an interview programme on Channels Television.

According to Saraki,“If the mega party will see us pushing Nigeria’s economy forward, I don’t have problem. Like I have said to many people, my focus now is on the economy.”

 

His remark is coming at a time when a new political party believed to be the mega party, Action Democratic Party, ADP, submitted requirements for registration to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Admitting that the All Progressives Congress, APC, made some mistakes on assumption of power, the nation number three man said, “It’s been tough. There are many things we should have done differently; we didn’t manage the success well in the early stage. But it’s a learning curve.

“Here is a party that hasn’t been in power for so many years. But we are making progress. I mean look at the budget process. Compare now to last year, you will see that the process is better, and it’s going to get better as we go on.”

He also assured that the upper legislative chambers would not delay in the passage of the 2017 budget.

“We are going to put everything in place, we will back in the 21st, hopefully by then reports will start coming in, plus or minus three weeks by the time we come back.

“The national assembly will open up its budget in 2017, yes in my own time,” he said.

Some communities in Jos North Local Government of Plateau, have refused to participate in the on-going immunisation exercise against polio, citing hunger as their reason.

“The communities have shunned entreaties by the immunisation officers; they say the vaccine should be replaced with food,” Mrs Hannatu Davat, the Local Immunisation Officer, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Jos on Monday, January 30.

The immunisation exercise, which began on Jan. 28, is co-sponsored by the local government in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the Nigerian Rotary Club.

The four-day exercise, targeted at children below five years, vaccinates the group against polio and other killer diseases including hepatitis, measles, yellow fever and tetanus.

Davat explained that the parents, who rejected the vaccine, asked government to rather work toward slashing the prices of food items.

She said that other residents, who refused to participate, claimed that they had collected too many rounds of the vaccination, while others described the vaccines as “western medicine”.

The officer further said that even doctors rejected the vaccines on the grounds that government was paying too much attention to polio while neglecting other serious diseases.

“The local government has reported the development to the Plateau chapter of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), who have promised to ensure that no doctor rejects any polio vaccines meant for children.

“One of the doctors mentioned Mumps as one of the diseases being neglected, and described it as a serious disease which government hardly worry about.”

Davat said that the local government had set up a social mobilization team that was moving through affected communities to sensitise them on the importance of taking the vaccines.

“Based on such efforts, some of the communities have changed their initial stance and are ready to bring their children, but others have remained adamant,” she said.

The officer, who refused to name the specific communities, however revealed that three wards were involved.

“We have seven rounds of immunisation this year and this is just the first round; if we are not able to resolve the lingering issues, we shall forward them to the state office for further action,” Davat said.

(Source: NAN)

Apparently, in response to his planned arrest and extradition to the United States of America over drug-related offenses, a Senator representing Ogun West district, Senator Buruju Kashamu has avowed that any attempt to arrest him will be bloody and many should be ready to die.

Senator Kashamu according to Punch Newspaper Kashamu said on Saturday, that he believed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government would not oblige the request by the US Government for his extradition. The federal lawmaker, however, declared that before anybody could succeed to extradite him to the US to face trial for drug-related offences, “about three, four or five people will die.” 

Kashamu, who described as illegal the move by the US to extradite him to the US to face alleged drug charges, said he believed that the Buhari government had integrity and had respect for the rule of law and would, therefore, not allow him to be taken away. 

 

Arguing that the case brought against him by the US Government had been laid to rest by two British courts 14 years ago, and three Nigerian courts in 2015, all of which he said were not appealed, Kashamu said all that the US could do was to “abduct” him, claiming that no extradition proceedings could be lawfully commenced against him. Kashamu, who claimed that he was mistaken for his younger brother, Adewale Kashamu, and was 14 years ago erroneously prosecuted by the US government in two English courts before he was exonerated, blamed former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his recent travails. 

He vowed that any attempt to ‘abduct’ him would be met with violence, saying he planned to engage the services of members of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress for protection. The businessman added, 

“There is no extradition that can be brought against me again. The only thing they can do is to watch and catch me on the road; take me to the airport or Cotonou or throw me inside a vessel and take me through the Atlantic Ocean. But I am not going to let that happen. “I don’t go to the beach, and now, I will go and hire OPC, may be like 40. I will load them (in my vehicle), because the day we meet, one has to kill one. That is for sure! One has to kill one because I am not ready to go anywhere. Before that happens, maybe about three, four or five people will die. 

“But I do not believe that this government can entertain this kind of rubbish. I do believe that this government has integrity and they (officials) are credible; they believe in the rule of law, because if they want to do it, they could have done it. “Obasanjo has been pushing them, using one Sandra, a former ambassador of the United States; he’s the one pushing everybody, meeting all these judges, but what have I done?” 

In a statement titled, ‘US court ruling: I have no case to answer’, dated January 28, 2017, Kashamu maintained that he was not the offender wanted in the US, but his younger brother, Adewale Kashamu, who is now late. 

He stated, “My brother was living in Chicago, I sent him to school. He’s very well educated. He was the one having girlfriends there; he was the one who caused a lot of problems. Even when I was in London, they still traced almost $2m into his bank account while I was in prison; they still continued doing the transaction. If you go through the last British judgment, it is there. 

The Interpol people were the ones who went to the bank and got all the information, and carried all the documents, they came to London and gave evidence in court. “The Beninoise Interpol produced evidence showing that the Benin telephone number, through which the US offenders communicated with their West African collaborators, belonged to my brother, Adewale Kashamu, and not me, Buruji Kashamu. 

“When they were looking for him, the NDLEA people went to his house here; they searched his house. They went to his car company, they sealed his car company and they took over 30 vehicles from there. He ran away. “He was using the office of Remi Adiukwu Oluwalogbon on Allen Avenue. For three good years, he did not pay Remi Adiukwu. The NDLEA people sealed the car company and they confirmed this in one of their letters.”

Meanwhile, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency had said it will push for the arrest of Senator Buruji Kashamu as the agency says it has been “emboldened and strengthened” by the latest ruling  of a United States court, which ruled that the senator must face drug charges.

US appeal court had last week upheld the ruling against Kashamu, who is facing drug charges related to the hit TV show, “Orange is the New Black.”

With the ruling, the Senator, representing Ogun East Senatorial District, could be extradited to face trial in the US court.

The NDLEA also stated that it would ensure that orders stopping the arrest of the senator were vacated in a bid to pave the way for his extradition.

It further noted that it would not undermine the extradition agreement that Nigeria had with the US with respect to the case involving Kashamu, adding that the federal lawmaker must go to the US and clear his name.

The Head, Public Affairs, NDLEA, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, told one of our correspondents in an interview on Sunday that the agency had a legal treaty with the US and would not compromise this agreement for any reason.

Asked to state the specific steps to be taken by the NDLEA on Kashamu with respect to the injunctions he obtained against the agency and considering the latest US court ruling, Ofoyeju said, “Already, there are actions ongoing to vacate those orders. So it is now important for us to pursue those actions to a conclusion because we now have a better ground to vacate those orders. And these are injunctions that he got restraining us from picking him up.

“You know that this development is a good reason for us to vacate those orders that he is not to be arrested.”

He stated that based on the latest US court ruling, the agency’s position had been “emboldened and strengthened and we will push for the vacation of every injunction stopping us.”

Ofoyeju added, “When those (restraining) orders are cleared, then we can go ahead with the extradition case. There is no point filing another one. The case that was filed is still in court. It is just that there are orders preventing that case and these orders need to be cleared so that the coast will be clear.”

On claims that the NDLEA had given up on Kashamu, the agency’s spokesperson declared, “No way, that is not true! We have not given up, but we don’t want to violate court orders. We will seek legal means and this case has emboldened our case here in Nigeria.”

Emphasising on the treaty between the US and the anti-drugs peddling agency, the NDLEA spokesperson said, “We have a legal treaty with the US on extradition, although his (Kashamu) case could be seen as an exception. We are going to respect the rule of law, but at the same time, we will ensure that whoever has a case to answer should be made to answer it within the ambits of the law.

“On the exceptionality of his case, he is a distinguished Senator and so our legal team will come up with the best legal option for him to clear himself because of the mutual legal agreement that we have with the US.

“The case is a very sensitive one because he is a serving Senator; but then, we have a mutual agreement with the US on things like this. It is an allegation, but let him go and clear himself.”

He stated that the Senator had secured an injunction, restraining the NDLEA from arresting him, but noted that the agency’s legal team was studying the cases against Kashamu both in Nigeria and in the US.

Ofoyeju said, “The court in the US has ruled and back home here, he has secured an injunction that he should not be arrested. So our legal team is currently studying the case, both the one in the US and the one in Nigeria. This is in order to know the next legal line of action, because he must clear himself. That is the position.

“So, as it is now we are going to look at the best legal action to take in order for his right not to be violated because he is a distinguished senator of the federal republic. However, at the same time, all necessary measures will be exploited for him to clear himself of whatever allegations that have been brought against him in the US.”

Chicago prosecutors had accused the Senator of heading a heroin trafficking ring in the 1990s.

Kashamu had, in April, 2015, asked a district court to put a hold on his “abduction abroad by US authorities.”

But in its ruling last Monday, the US court of appeal dismissed the complaint and upheld the ruling of the lower court.

The court said the attempt by US agents to arrest Kashamu in coordination with Nigerian authorities could not be termed “an attempted abduction.”

Many of those indicted in the case had pleaded guilty but Kashamu had maintained that his late brother was responsible for the crimes he was being accused of.

He said the 1998 indictment by a grand jury in Chicago for conspiracy to import and distribute heroin in the US was a case of mistaken identity, adding that the prosecutors really wanted a dead brother, who closely resembled him.

The court dismissed the complaint, and the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling Monday, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

It said the US agents’ attempt to arrest Kashamu in coordination with local authorities would not constitute “an attempted abduction.”

The NDLEA in May, 2015, attempted to arrest Kashamu, then a Senator-elect, in connection with the heroin deal.

He was placed under house arrest at his Lagos home.

He instituted a suit at a Federal High Court in Lagos to prevent attempts to extradite him.

Justices Okon Abang and Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos, in separate judgments on May 27 and June 8 respectively, barred the NDLEA from extraditing Kashamu to the US.

In deference to the two judgments, Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Abuja Division of the court, on July 1, equally dismissed an application by the NDLEA, praying for an order to extradite Kashamu.

Kashamu had, on May 4, 2015, pre-emptively sued the NDLEA, AGF and others before Justice Abang, seeking to restrain them from arresting and extraditing him.

The judge heard the case on May 8, 2015, during which the NDLEA, AGF and other defendants denied making any move to arrest Kashamu and urged Justice Abang to dismiss the suit for being speculative and showing no reasonable cause of action.

After hearing the case on May 8, Justice Abang reserved his judgment till May 27, 2015.

But between May 23 and 25, 2015, operatives of the NDLEA laid siege to Kashamu’s house in Lekki, Lagos, wanting to arrest him, for the purpose of extraditing him to the US.

Kashamu, however, locked himself in and refused to turn himself over for arrest.

He later commenced contempt proceedings against the NDLEA, AGF and others before Justice Buba, alleging that the move to arrest him would be prejudicial to Justice Abang’s judgment, which was reserved for May 27, 2015.

Justice Buba agreed with Kashamu’s lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), and ordered the NDLEA operatives to vacate Kashamu’s house.

Justice Abang later delivered his judgment on May 27, 2015, barring the NDLEA, AGF and others from arresting and extraditing Kashamu.

The judgment was later affirmed on June 8, 2015 by Justice Buba, who held that Kashamu could not be extradited unless Justice Okon Abang’s judgment was set aside by the Court of Appeal.

The then Attorney of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), approached Justice Kolawole in Abuja, seeking a warrant for Kashamu’s arrest.

But in his judgment on July 1, 2015, Justice Kolawole said he was unable to grant the AGF’s request because of the two earlier judgments of Justices Abang and Buba, which had barred the FG from extraditing Kashamu.

“In conclusion, I am unable to exercise my jurisdiction pursuant to sections 6, 7 and 8 of the Extradition Act Cap E25 to accede to the application to issue a warrant to effect the arrest of the respondent for the reason, which I have analysed in this ruling, because the orders made by Justices Abang and Buba of the Federal High Court, sitting in the Lagos Judicial Division, have not been appealed against by the applicant or have been set aside by the appellate court,” Justice Kolawole held.