Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta

Senator Buruji Kashamu

A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Credible Representation (CCR) has asked the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa,  to defend the sanctity of the judiciary and save the institution from blackmail.

The Centre described the Senator, representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Prince Buruji Kashamu as “a serial petitioner, who has no qualms about contriving lies, just to bulldoze his way.

In a letter dated November 30, 2015, which was addressed to the President of the Appeal Court and copied to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and National Judicial Council, (NJC), signed by its Chairman, Comrade Akinloye Olusegun Oyeniyi, the group claimed  that the Ijebu Igbo born federal lawmaker had succeeded in his bullish ways, because “decent people would not want to wrestle with a pig.”

The group said  Kashamu’s petition against the Election Petition Appeal panel sitting in Ibadan, which made the President of the Court of Appeal to dissolve and reconstitute another appeal panel last week, was informed by Kashamu’s morbid fear of the weakness of his case. But quoting Shakespeare, “cowards die many times before their death,’ the group believed that Kashamu has embarked on a time-wasting venture.

“We invite your Lordship to look into your archives, Kashamu is a serial petitioner, especially when he is losing out. He would gladly accuse, even, the Pope of partiality, if the sacrament cup is given to anyone but him.

“He has consistently manipulated the judicial system,albeit to his advantage because no one has the determination to call him a fraud that he is.

“Clearly, his tactics is to cow and blackmail everyone to submission,but this time, he has failed as he is fighting a lost battle,” the statement said.

The CRR reminded the Court of Appeal President that in, “2011, Prince Buruji Kashamu, out of his usual desperation, wrote a petition against the Court of Appeal panel presided over by Hon. Justice Aminat Adamu Augie, alleging, in his characteristics pattern, that the panel sitting over an appeal arising from a controversial judgement of Justice Charle Efanga Archibong of the Federal High Court Lagos, has been bought.

“Though, that panel headed by Hon. Justice Augie was dissolved and another reconstituted panel  restrained the lower court of Justice C. E. Archibong from proceeding further until determination of the appeal.

“Kashamu, who once boasted in a 2011 interview published by the Nigerian Tribune that “you can get 20 court orders in a week, if your case is right”, enticed and encouraged Justice Archibong to deliver a kangaroo judgement despite, and in contravention of, the Court of Appeal ruling.

“It is on record, that Justice Archibong was later unceremoniously dismissed by the National Judicial Council NJC, on six charges, four out of which arose from his handling of cases involving Kashamu.

“Through his use of the media to cry wolf with his baseless “petition”, your Lordship in your wisdom decided to dissolve the panel of judges that you had constituted to hear Kashamu’s appeals and the cross-appeals by Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR on November 24, 2015. Kashamu commended the dissolution of the appeal panel in newspapers, but was obviously taken aback by the timeous reconstitution of a new panel within 24 hours.

“The same day, November 25, 2015, Kashamu rented a crowd of about 40 miscreants, carrying placards to storm the Court Appeal Ibadan, on which were written “we demand justice:” We thanked the Nigerian Police Force for protecting the court, judiciary workers and members of the public as the miscreants  were to later engage in a free-for-all-fight over the sharing of their rentage fees. What kind of justice does this man want, justice dictated by him?,” the group queried.

CRR therefore called on the President of the Court of Appeal to defend the sanctity of the judiciary as the controversial and allegedly ‘wanted’ lawmaker,Prince Buruji Kashamu must not be allowed to continuously drag the name of the judiciary in the mud”.