Justice
Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, refrained from issuing
a restraining order on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the
Directorate of State Services (DSS) following an alleged attempt to abduct and
extradite Senator Kashamu Buruji to the United States.
Kashamu’s
lawyer Godswill Mrakpor, said his client was scared of moving freely because of
the fear of arrest by the 1st and 2nd respondent.
Mrakpor
said: “Where the liberty of my client has been further endangered by report by
the press that the court has rejected my client’s ex-parte motion to restrain
the respondents, it will not be asking for too much if parties can give
undertaking that the liberty of our client will not be compromised in anyway
pending when we will get a date for the hearing of our suit.”
Lawyers
to the police and Adebutu, David Igbodo and Ehi Uwaifo rejected Mrakpor’s
proposal, arguing that there was no basis for such request. Igbodo said
Kashamu’s apprehension was self-induced, as there was not plan at the moment to
arrest him in relation to the United States drug issue.
Justice
Abang agreed with the respondents’ lawyers, ruling there was no basis for
the request by Mrakpor.
He
noted that since Kashamu already has judgments in his favour in relation to the
drug case, he needed not to come to court for any new order.
The
judge said the only option opened to Kashamu, if he is sure there are plans to
abduct and extradite him, was to execute the judgment against those who are
parties in the case leading to the judgment.
Justice
Abang added that where Kashamu felt those plotting to abduct him were not
parties in the earlier case, he could rely on Section 133 of the Criminal Code
to apply for leave of the court to execute the judgment against the new
persons.
Based
on the agreement by parties yesterday to abide by the doctrine of lis pendens and refrain
from acting on the subject of the suit pending the determination of the case,
Justice Abang, who sits as the court’s vacation judge, ordered parties to
“suspend actions on the life issues before the court pending the determination
of this suit.”
Noting
that his power to sit as a vacation judge ends today, Justice Abang elected to
return the case file to the court’s chief judge for assignment after the
court’s annual vacation.
The
police yesterday explained why it sought audience with Kashamu, who represents
Ogun East.
IGP
Ibrahim Idris faulted Kashamu’s suit seeking, among others, to prevent his
investigation.
The
police explained that its invitation to Kashamu was in furtherance of its
investigation of allegation of threat to life and assassination plot raised
against him by a House of Representatives member, representing Ikenne, Sagamu
and Remo North in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu.
In
a counter-affidavit filed in a fundamental rights enforcement suit by Kashamu,
the IGP, listed as the 1st respondent, faulted the suit, describing it as
speculative and an attempt by the senator to, among others, restrain the police
from performing its statutory responsibilities.
The
IGP urged the court to dismiss the suit as it is capable of sending wrong
signal, because Kashamu allegedly seeks to use the suit to prevent his
investigation on grievous allegation of attempted assassination.
Adebutu
had, in his petition dated August 22, alleged among others, that Kashamu, who
belonged to an opposing faction of the PDP in Ogun State, led some 50 thugs to
attack him and almost killed him a night before the botched national convention
of the PDP in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Source:The Nation
Tags
Politics