Oluyede, in a statement on Sunday, described the alleged invitation sent by the Federal Government to the US for Kashamu’s extradition as shameful, ridiculous and “a clear sign of low mentality” on the part of the Federal Government.
The lawyer said he was surprised that the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), would be contemplating doing the impossible, in the face of “a subsisting and unchallenged 6th January 2014 judgment.”
According to Oluyede, the judgment “expressly forbids the AGF from acting against Senator Kashamu on the basis of allegations of his complicity in a 1994 offence in respect of which British courts have exonerated him and expressly told the US authorities that Senator Kashamu is not the person they seek.”
Oluyede said, “Nowhere else in the civilised world would a government beg a foreign power to request for the extradition of its most insignificant citizen let alone a serving federal legislator!
“It is not only sad but unpatriotic and a clear sign of low mentality for the Nigerian government to be begging a reluctant US Government to send a request for the extradition of a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“I have no desire or patience to address the erroneous premise on which this misguided act is based at this time, save to state for the records that the Attorney General is acting in criminal contempt of the judiciary in taking this step.”
According to the lawyer, the Federal Government participated between 2002 and 2003 in the proceedings leading to the January 6, 2014 judgment in London “and gave evidence that Senator Kashamu is not the person sought by the US Government.”
“The Nigerian government went further to give details of the identity of the actual culprit.
“A question Nigerians need to ask its government now is: what has changed between that time and today to warrant this mindless pursuit of an innocent man for an offence committed in 1994 by someone else?” Oluyede queried.
Punch
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