A Judge of the federal high court Abuja, Okon Abang, has threatened to withdraw from the extradition suit brought before him by Senator Buruji Kashamu, seeking to stop the federal government from extraditing him to the United States of America.
The judge, who claimed to have given judgment in two suits in 2015 brought before him by the same senator, said that he will opt out of the fresh suit filed last year if it is related to extradition matter against the federal government.
Kashamu had in the second suit marked FHC/ABJ/CF/530/ 2018, sued the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the NDLEA praying the court to prohibit the two respondents from extraditing him to America to face trial in an alleged hard drug offence as doing so will infringe on his fundamental right.
The reaction of the judge followed an observation by counsel to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Mr. Joseph Sunday, who drew the attention of the judge to the fact that he had in 2015 delivered two judgments on the same extradition issues.
The counsel said that the two judgments of the high court have been set aside by the Court of Appeal Lagos division and that the appealed on them have been filed and pending at the Supreme Court.
Counsel to the NDLEA who commended the judge for raising the issue of propriety of him to adjudicate on the two fresh suits filed by Kashamu in 2018 pleaded with the court to take notice that similar extradition matters by the same Kashamu had been decided.
But Counsel to Kashamu Ifeoma Esson insisted that the fresh suit of his client is not related to the issue that brought about the two judgments of the Justice Abang delivered on 2015.
The Counsel stated that the current suit was predicated on the unlawful invasion and siege laid on his client house for 6 days by operatives of the NDLEA.
Ifeoma specifically told the court that his client in the fresh suit is challenging the violation of his fundamental right to dignity of person, freedom of movement and urged the court to go ahead with hearing of the new suit.
Kashamu applied for order of the court to also stop the two respondents from giving effect to the extradition request of the USA, on him.
However, in a brief ruling the judge adjourned the hearing of the substantive matter till 30th September on the ground that the court will proceed on annual vacation by July 8 and that he will not be able to write judgment during the vacation.
