I would rather die than be extradited to the US - Kashamu

Senator-elect, Ogun-East, Prince Buruji Kashamu, was said to have threatened to kill himself if officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) forced their way into his house, yesterday, claiming there was a court injunction against the NDLEA’s action.

Some of his friends who claimed to have contacted him on phone between 7 and 9 am told Sunday Vanguard that Kashamu said he would remain indoors till Monday.

But the narcotic agency explained that the operatives mandate was to put the politician, who is also the Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of the PDP in the South-West, under house arrest pending when he would appear in court on Monday.

According to Punch, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke (SAN), said on Saturday that the house arrest which the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency placed on the Ogun-East Senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu, was informed by a recent extradition request by the United States of America.

Adoke told one of our correspondents on the telephone on Saturday that the request came last week.

He said immediately his office received the request it was passed to the appropriate organ of government for implementation.

Responding to further inquiry, he confirmed that he was referring to the NDLEA as the appropriate organ of government to take up the extradition request.

“Of course, it is a drug-related offence and the appropriate government agency that handles such cases is the NDLEA,” Adoke said.

The NDLEA confirmed the confinement of the movement of Kashamu to his Lagos residence on Oladipo Street, Lekki Phase 1 pending his appearance in court on Monday (tomorrow).

No fewer than 10 operatives of the agency were said to have invaded the Lagos residence of Kashamu, around 5am on Saturday to effect his arrest following a purported extradition request from the United States on drug- related charges.

They were said to be heavily armed and were ruthless.

As soon as they stormed his residence, SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that some of the NDLEA operatives brought out a yellow tape and cordoned off the area, while others went straight to the gate.

After they (operatives) reportedly knocked on Kashamu’s gate, his security men were alerted about their mission.

Kashamu’s security men at this point demanded the arrest warrant from the NDLEA men but they could not produce any.Based on this, they were prevented from entering the residence.

However, this action was said to have infuriated the NDLEA officials who stormed the compound after destroying the gate.

The media aide to Kashamu, Austin Oniyokor, in a statement made available to our correspondent on Saturday, explained that the NDLEA operatives after they had forcibly entered the compound, headed for the living rooms and began to destroy all the doors one after other, in a desperate move to arrest Kashamu.

An NDLEA source said they (operatives) closed in on the bedroom of the PDP chief who was said to have threatened to commit suicide if the agency tried to extradite him to the US forcibly.

Oniyokor described the latest onslaught on his principal as a confirmation of the alleged plot to illegally abduct him despite the pending suit against his abduction.

Oniyokor, however, accused a Peoples Democratic Party leader, Chief Bode George, as being behind the onslaught against his boss, “in a bid to score cheap political points.”

He said he is doing this through his wife who is the Director-General of the agency.

Source-Vanguard/Punch 

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