[size=16pt]Why the US government is after “Ogun State newest political Godfather” Buruji Kashamu?[/size]


Written by Sahara Reporters, New York
Thursday, 07 January 2010 20:15

The controversy whether or not millionaire politician, self acclaimed philanthropist snd Nigeria’s newest “Godfather”, Alhaji Buruji Kashamu is a drug baron and fugitive from the United States law has been on in the Nigerian press for the past few months. A section of the Nigerian media had reported late year that that Alhaji Kashamu’s name came up in a recent Court ruling dated September 25, 2009 by Judge Charles R. Norgle of the United States District Court in Chicago, Illinois in which the Judge upheld Kashamu’s indictment by the U.S government on drug trafficking charges and conspiracy to smuggle heroin into the country. Kashamu was described by the U.S government as the kingpin of the drug cartel.

In quick response, Kashamu published several rebuttals in the newspapers and alleged that he was not the one being sought after by the United States Government, but that the alleged crime was committed by one of his brother who is now late. Kashamu, in his defense, also claims that he had been cleared by a British Court and produced what purports to be the decision of a Magistrate Court in England. Kashamu also referred to his recent issuance of German visa sequel to his clearance by international security agencies as a further proof that he is not a fugitive and that the U.S may have been looking for a wrong person.

However, from Saharareporters’s investigation, it appears that the matter is far from being over as the United States government insists that the man the U.S government is looking for is no other person than Buruji Kashamu, not his brother and that the government of the U.S still regards Buruji Kashamu as a drug kingpin and a fugitive from the United States law. The U.S further states that it has never withdrawn its warrant of arrest against Kashamu maintaining further that the charges as to Kashamu remains pending and will request for his extradition from Nigeria in due course.

The United States Government has also accused Buruji Kashamu of using fraudulent means to obtain a German Visa in 2009. The U.S government notes in its brief that Kashamu communicated with German officials using the name “Buruji Kashamu Shodipe” instead of Buruji Kashamu. According to the U.S government, Kashamu was indicted in the United States under the name “Buruji Kashamu” and the warrant of arrest against him was issued in that same name. It is the position of the U.S that any confusion by German officials that led to the issuance of a Schengen visa to Kashamu may have been caused by Kashamu’s use of the surname “Shodipe” in his application and communications with the German consulate.
Saharareporters investigation has revealed that there is indeed, a pending criminal action against Mr. Buruji before the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois involving fifteen people. The Case 1:94-cr-00172 is before Hon. Judge Charles R. Norgle. While Kashamu’s other coconspirators had been jailed, Kashamu’s case is being held under the fugitive Calendar.


Kashamu Buruji


Curiously, however, in February, 2009, Kashamu hired a team of lawyers to appear for him in the case for the purpose of filing a Motion requesting the Court to quash the arrest warrant which his lawyers led by Pravin B. Rao did.
In the Motion to quash the arrest warrant, Mr. Pravin Rao made copious reference to the United Kingdom’s extradition proceedings in which Kashamu was freed after spending five years in British jail. His lawyers also pled res judicata and argued that the U.K decisions are final and should therefore, be binding on the U.S.

In its response, the United States government disagreed with Kashamu on all fours and argued that Kashamu’s Motion to quash arrest warrant should be denied by the Court. On September, 25, 2009, the District Court Judge upheld the U.S position and denied Kashamu’s Motion to quash his arrest warrant. The judge also declared Buruji Kashamu a fugitive.

However, Kahamu’s lawyers have filed another Motion praying the Court to reconsider its decision of September 25, 2009. The response of the U.S government is still being awaited to the Motion but according to the Department of Justice, the U.S government would file a response to the motion because Buruji Kashamu has raised fundamental questions in his motion which the U.S would like to respond to.
The Position of the U.S Government on Buruji Kashamu

In this report, Saharareporters have obtained a copy of the United States Government’s position on the status of Kashamu Buruji which the Department of Justice filed court in response to Kashamu’s Motion to quash arrest warrant. For avoidance of doubt, Saharareporters has produced the full legal position of the United States position in order to shed more light into the genesis of this decades old case and exposed the real issues involved.
US government’s response to defendant Kashamu’s motion to quash warrant and to dismiss indictment

Defendant Buruji Kashamu, a fugitive, has moved to quash the arrest warrant and to dismiss the charges in the Second Superseding Indictment against him based on findings made in an extradition proceeding. Kashamu’s motion should be denied because principles of res judicata do not apply to extradition proceedings and the government may initiate multiple extradition proceedings against Kashamu in an effort to secure Kashamu’s appearance in this case.

http://www.saharareporters.com/real-news/131-sr-headlines/4772--why-the-us-government-is-after-ogun-state-new-godfather-buruji-kashamu.html

C. The First Extradition Proceeding.

In approximately February 1999, the United States, through DOJ OIA, and the Crown Prosecution Service, the representative of the United States in the extradition proceedings, timely submitted the extradition package to the London court. In May 2000, as part of the extradition proceedings, Kashamu submitted documents in which he claimed for the first time that, prior to his December 1998 arrest, he cooperated with law enforcement authorities in Benin, Togo and Nigeria and that he told these authorities that his brother, Adewale Kashamu, was involved in drug trafficking activity. The government had no knowledge of any alleged cooperation by Kashamu or of the existence of any alleged brother before Kashamu made these claims. The undersigned attorney again raised with the DOJ OIA attorney the issue of disclosing the results of the viewing by Fillmore and Christman of the arrest photograph. The DOJ OIA attorney again advised against disclosing the information.

On or about May 28, 1999, Metropolitan Magistrate Timothy Workman committed Kashamu to prison to await extradition to the United States. GEx4. On or about June 11, 1999, Kashamu through counsel sought permission to apply for judicial review to quash the committal order. At some point, during the pendency of this review, the government, through the Crown Prosecution Service disclosed the information about the viewing by Fillmore and Christman of the arrest photograph. On October 6, 2000, the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, ruled that the “committal order must, in the circumstances, be quashed by reason of the unfairness of the proceedings resulting from the non-disclosure of crucial evidence [the Fillmore response to the arrest photograph], as accepted by the Government.” The Court noted that “[i]f they seek to proceed, the Government need to seek a fresh warrant.” Id. at 7, ¶ 29.

D. The Second Extradition Proceeding.

The government obtained a new warrant against Kashamu and executed it before Kashamu was released from custody. A second extradition proceeding was thereafter initiated before Magistrate Workman, the same judge who had considered the first proceeding. The government submitted additional materials to show that Kashamu, the person in custody, was the same person as “Alaji,” the leader of the heroin smuggling conspiracy. The government, for example, showed the arrest photospread separately to defendants Catherine Wolters and Ellen Wolters. Both Catherine Wolters and Ellen Wolters identified the photograph in Position 7 (Kashamu) as the person whom they knew as “Alaji.” The government also separately played for Catherine Wolters and Ellen Wolters a recording of a telephone conversation Fillmore had with “Alaji” in 1996 after Fillmore began to cooperate with the government. Both Catherine Wolters and Ellen Wolters, as Fillmore had previously, identified the voice on the recording as that of “Alaji.” The Wolters sisters were in different states when they each viewed the arrest photospread and listened to the recorded conversation. The government’s submission included affidavits from Catherine Wolters, Ellen Wolters and Fillmore setting forth these identifications, and an affidavit from Special Agent Daniel


Morro describing the process he employed in showing the arrest photospread and in playing the recorded conversation. The Fillmore affidavit also described Fillmore’s earlier viewing of the arrest photospread and Fillmore’s responses. The government also included a copy of the recorded conversation in the submission as well as a transcript of the conversation. On or about November 29, 2000, the DOJ OIA, through the United States Embassy in London, presented these new submissions, as well as the submissions from the first extradition proceeding, to the Crown Prosecution Service for use in Kashamu’s second extradition proceeding.

On or about December 2, 2000, the undersigned attorney informed one of the Crown Prosecution Service attorneys representing the United States in the second extradition proceeding that the case agents had learned that the photograph referred to as the “surveillance” photograph of Kashamu had been supplied by a confidential informant. The Crown Prosecution Service relayed this information to Kashamu’s attorney in the second extradition proceeding.
On March 13, 2001, Magistrate Workman refused to hear and determine Kashamu’s claim that the institution of the second extradition proceeding amounted to an abuse of process and that the proceeding was oppressive. Magistrate Workman suggested that the abuse of process claim be submitted to the High Court for review to determine the appropriate forum in which such claims should be considered. Kashamu filed an application for habeas corpus and judicial review with the High Court in connection with Magistrate Workman’s refusal to hear his abuse of process claims. At some point in 2000, Chicago attorney Thomas Anthony Durkin notified that government that he had been retained as Kashamu’s United States-based attorney. The High Court combined Kashamu’s habeas application with that of two other individuals whose extradition was also being sought by the United States.

On November 23, 2001, the High Court ruled that the Magistrate’s Court, and not the High Court, was the appropriate forum to hear evidence and submissions and making findings of fact as to abuse of process. The High Court returned the case to the Magistrate Court for the resumption of the second extradition proceeding.

The second extradition proceeding before Magistrate Workman focused primarily on two claims raised by Kashamu to challenge his identity: (1) Kashamu was a cooperator with the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (“NDLEA”); and (2) Kashamu told the NDLEA, among other things, that his alleged brother, Adewale Adeshina Kashamu, whom Kashamu claimed looked remarkably similar to him, was a drug trafficker. The parties submitted evidence about Kashamu from Nigeria, through various officials including those associated with the Nigerian Drug Enforcement Administration “NDLEA”), as well as from other West African countries including Benin and Togo. This foreign evidence was at times contradictory.
Throughout the second extradition proceeding, Kashamu’s counsel levied accusations of misconduct against the government’s identification evidence and the responses the government had obtained from foreign officials.

http://www.saharareporters.com/real-news/131-sr-headlines/4772--why-the-us-government-is-after-ogun-state-new-godfather-buruji-kashamu.html

I have been reading all over the place about this fella called "Buruji Kashamu" for the past few weeks. .
Same fella whose real name is Jinadu Esho or something like that. . . .Amongst other numerous aliases. . .
Me thinks this fella is defo a criminal. . .
Read somewhere else today that apparently, he owes major dosh to one of the banks enmeshed in the financial sector scandal. . .
I am pretty sure this dude is not straight. . .
What baffles me is the fact that elders are flocking behind him and promoting the dude like no-man's business. . .
Politics stinks in Nigeria, corruption is deep seated and with the way it is going, Nigeria will never recover from the insanity ruining it!

The guy has 6 different names by which he operated in Europe and North America.

Buruja Kashamu is one of the many criminals
defrauding our country of so much money
It's a proven fact.

Buruja Kashamu is one of the many criminals
defrauding our country of so much money
It's a proven fact.

can you provide this fact?

otawa:

can you provide this fact?

I very much doubt it. . . .

otawa:

can you provide this fact?

Can you provide the fact that you want the fact?