The National Drug Law enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has said that nobody was witch hunting the Ogun State Senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu, as he is claiming in some statements.
According to the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, it was simply being sought for extradition to the United States which has formerly requsted for him to be brought the country to answer drug offence committed some 20 years ago.
In the bid to arrest him and to get to go throug the extradition proceedings, NDLEA on Saturday laid siege to the Lagos residence of Kashamu’s, previously indicted for drug dealing in the USA.
The senator-elect remains holed up in his Lagos residence even as his aides have said the mpove.
The drug agency told Kashamu on Sunday to stop blaming anyone for his predicaments and urging him to get ready to face extradition over drug-related offences.
Kashamu fingered former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Bode George, whose wife heads the NDLEA for his predicament.
A statement by Ofoyeju Mitchell, the Agency spokesman, 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 US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“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.”
According to the NDLEA, Kashamu “who holds dual Nigerian/Beninese citizenship, has taken multiple preemptive actions to thwart US 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.”
Kashamu is expected to appear in court on Monday.
BURUJI KASHAMUKASHAMU EXTRADITIONNDLEA
