JUNE 6, 2018 – For the second time in one week, the Federal High Court in Abuja has refused to grant an order of interim injunction against the Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF) and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to stop them from extraditing Senator Buruji Kashamu to the United States of America (USA) to face trial for alleged drug offences.
Justice Babatunde Quadiri on Tuesday declined to restrain the AGF and the NDLEA when an ex-parte application was argued before him by counsel to the Senator, Mr. Olusegun Odubela (SAN).
Quadiri said that in view of the sensitivity of the issue in dispute, the merit of justice would not be served if the two respondents (AGF and NDLEA) were restrained on the matter at the ex-parte stage.
The judge therefore ordered Kashamu to put the AGF and the NDLEA on notice on the pendency of the suit against them
In his ruling on the motion, Justice Quadiri ordered the three parties in the matter to maintain the status-quo pending the hearing of the originating summons filed by Kashamu.
Kashamu had in the ex-parte motion filed on May 18, prayed the court to restrain the AGF and NDLEA from “arresting, detaining and extraditing him to the United States of America (USA) to face trial in a drug related charges.
The senator tendered a newspaper publications of May 13, 2018 titled: “AGF requests for extradition process on Kashamu” to establish the fact that the AGF office was making move on his extradition.
He also told the Judge that one Sheu Abubakar, an official in the AGF office informed him of the plan by AGF and NDLEA to extradite him based on the judgments of the Court of Appeal delivered on May 4 which voided all restraining orders granted in favour of Kashamu.
Justice Quadiri who refused to restrain the AGF and NDLEA said that he would prefer to give fair hearing to the parties in the suit
The judge granted an order to serve the originating summon on NDLEA in the Lagos office on the pendency of the court action.
Meanwhile, hearing in the originating summon has been fixed for September 24 this year.
