Stop blame game, get ready for extradition proceedings, NDLEA tells Kashamu

The National Drug Law enforcement Agency, NDLEA, on Sunday told Buruji Kashamu to be set for extradition proceedings and not blame anyone for his predicaments.

Mr. Kashamu, a senator-elect, has been under house arrest by the NDLEA since Saturday morning, with the agency set to drag him to court on Monday to face extradition to the U.S. where he his wanted for drug-related offences.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, politician blamed his current predicament on former President Olusegun Obasanjo and a PDP leader, Bode George, whose wife heads the NDLEA.

However, in a statement on Sunday, the agency’s spokesperson, Ofoyeju Mitchell, said, “We expect Kashamu as a distinguished senator-elect to demonstrate ample confidence in the Nigerian judicial system and stop the blame game.”

“The fact is that a formal request for his extradition had been received from the Embassy of the United States of America. According to official report, Kashamu has been on the wanted list of both the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),” the drug agency stated.

“Kashamu was indicted in the Northern District of Illinois, United States on charges brought against him by ICE. According to the United States court documents, Kashamu in his days as the leader of a prolific heroin trafficking ring based in Chicago, Illinois was known as “God,” “Daddy,” and “Kasmal”. He is wanted to stand trial on charges of conspiracy and importation of controlled substances, namely heroin, into the United States dating back to 1994.”

The NDLEA added that Mr. Kashamu, “who holds dual Nigerian/Beninese citizenship, has taken multiple preemptive actions to thwart U.S. extradition efforts such as making fanciful claims that his is a case of mistaken identity, and that his deceased brother is responsible for the crimes he is being sought after in the United States.  He has filed injunctions at the federal court both in the Northern District of Illinois, United States and in Nigeria to prevent his arrest and prosecution.”

Mr. Kashamu, a close ally of outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan has been making efforts to stop his extradition in the U.S. including filing cases at different Nigerian courts to stop the process. He was one of the major reasons given by Mr. Obasanjo for refusing to support the re-election of Mr. Jonathan and choosing to dump the PDP.