Court Orders NDLEA Officials To Vacate Kashamu’s House, No We’ll Not Leave –NDLEA

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Tuesday, May 26th, 2015

By Ayo Balogun, Lagos – A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Tuesday ordered the officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to immediately vacate Lekki Lagos residence of the Ogun State Senator-elect, Prince Buruji Kashamu.

Justice Ibrahim Buba, in his ruling held that the agency’s conduct was sub-judice, asking it to order its men to leave the flamboyant Ogun politician house.

It would be recalled the NDLEA men besieged the house of Prince kashamu around 4.30am last Saturday, with the mission to arrest and subsequently extradite him to the United States where he is believed to be wanted over a pending court case, bothering on drug trafficking.

However, in a release issued the same day by his media aide, Austin Oniyokor, Kashamu alerted the latest “onslaught is a confirmation of the alleged plot to illegally abduct him in spite of the pending suit” against the arrest which he described as “illegality”.

He hinged his argument on the fact that the operatives, about 50, did not possess warrant of arrest, but were only out to carry out a sinister plot.

He accused a PDP Chieftain, Olabode George, his wife, who is the Director General of NDLEA as well as former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the brains behind his ordeals.

The suit Prince Kashamu earlier filed in another Lagos High Court contesting the plot by the security operatives to arrest as well as prayer seeking right to be allowed to enjoy his fundamental human rights to free movement, is due for hearing tomorrow Wednesday, May 27, 2015.

Meanwhile, the NDLEA has insisted it will not leave the premises of the embattled senator-elect stating that the court cannot bar a federal agency from performing its duty.

Mitchell Ofoyeju, the agency’s spokesperson said in a statement that “the NDLEA does not believe that any court will issue an order preventing a government agency from performing its statutory responsibilities in a lawful manner,”

“The agency has therefore refused to be distracted and will continue to maintain presence at the residence. It is advisable that Kashamu respects the law by submitting himself to the due process of the law.

“The agency is prepared to further increase her public rating and goodwill in the areas of suspect handling, respect for human rights and the rule of law. We are prepared to explore all legal means in handling this case to a logical conclusion.”

Not happy with the refusal of the agency to honor the court order, Prince Kashamu through his media aide, Austin Oniyokor said “it is most ludicrous that NDLEA has chosen to further sink not just the agency but the Federal Government and indeed Nigeria into the abyss of lawlessness.”

He added that “by its conduct, the agency has not just proven once again that it is a lawless organisation, with no regards for the judiciary but one that holds it in utter contempt.”

“We urge all well meaning Nigerians, civil society organisations and the international community to help prevail on the NDLEA to desist from its strings of illegalities and stop embarrassing the country among the comity of nations.

“If the NDLEA claims to have got an extradition request, it should be taken to the court of law and the issues properly addressed, not this gestapo style that it has resorted to as if we are in a Banana republic. “ Oniyokor stated