A United States of America’s Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit sitting in Illinois has declared a Peoples Democratic Party’s chieftain, Buruji Kashamu a fugitive wanted in America for trial for allegedly importing drug to the country.
Delivering judgment in an application by Kashamu for a Writ of Mandamus, Justice Charles R. Norgle refused to quash an indictment issued against the PDP’s chieftain.
The court held that the indictment against him had no expiration date.
The court held that, “Should he ever come to the United States, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, he could be put on trial in the federal district court in Chicago, since the indictment has no expiration date.
“An original indictment remains pending until it is dismissed or until double jeopardy or due process would forbid prosecution under it.”
Kashamu, a dual citizen of Nigeria and Benin, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Chicago, along with thirteen other persons, with conspiracy to import heroin into the United States and distribute it, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 963.
The US government believed that Kashamu was the leader of the conspirators.
He was indicted both in his own name and under what the government believed to be two aliases that he used: “Alaji” and “Kasmal”.
Based on the refusal of a magistrate in the United Kingdom to grant a request by the US to extradite him, Kashamu filed an application in the US seeking to nullify his indictment.
The UK Magistrate had refused to grant the application to extradite Kashamu on the ground that the US did not conclusively prove that he was the same Alaji wanted in the US for trial. – Thisday.
