Buruji Kashamu

Men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) stormed the Lekki, Lagos home of Ogun East senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu in a bid to extradite him to Chicago, Illinois United States.

The heavily armed men disarmed the security operatives of Kashamu and gained entrance into his home. According to reports reaching PM News, it was not clear if he was at his home at the time of the operation or has been carted away.

Kashamu has on many occasions dismissed talks that he is wanted in the US for drug related offences. He claimed he had never been to the US in his life and that he was being mistaken for the person the Americans really wanted.

“Asking me to take the next available flight to the US so as to clear my name is like asking me to jump in a fire-may the Almighty rescue me from it. If the US prosecutor could hide important evidence that later exonerated me in the UK court, only God knows what they will do in their country,” he told Sahara TV recently.

In a statement he issued in April he said: “I am not running from any trial. All I have asked is for the relevant parties to follow due process – if they believe that I have a case to answer.

“I believe in the supremacy of the almighty Allah who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish. He is the ultimate decider of the fate of all mortals. When He says yes, no man can say no and when He says no, no man can say yes!

“I stand with the almighty Allah, Subhana Wa Tala. He is the protector of all men. He is my refuge and shield. Let no one play God!”

Early this month, Kashamu accused former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo of working with the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase and US security operatives in Nigeria and other west African countries to kidnap him.

He made this claim when he filed a suit to a federal high court in Lagos seeking to forestall his extradition to the US by Obasanjo, the leader of his “political enemies”.

Buruji claimed that his lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede informed him in October, that on a flight to Abuja from Lagos, a colleague of his Chief Obla SAN who is very close to Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), informed him of the tremendous pressure that Chief Obasanjo was placing on the AGF to extradite him and in one of the discussions between the AGF and Chief Obasanjo witnessed by Chief Obla, Obasanjo boasted that he was making arrangement with some US officials in the region to have him abducted and flown in a private plane to US.

Chief Obla then advised Prince Oluyede to warn him to be very careful.

Upon discreet inquiries he found out that indeed there have been moves by US official within the region to secure the assistance of the head of Interpol division in Nigerian former Deputy Inspector Of Police, Mr Solomon Arase now Inspector General Of Police for his arrest and delivery to the US officials for transportation to US without following due process require by the Nigeria Extradition Act.

Buruji is believed to be the “Alhaji” whose drug dealings formed the inspiration for Netflix hit series “Orange is the New Black”, which was written by American, Piper Kerman. All the people involved in the drug dealings have all been punished under US law. Only Buruji has remained elusive.