Premium Times Floors Kashamu in Court Over Publication
The move by embattled Senator Buruji Kashamu to drag Premium Times to court over publication on his alleged plot to assassinate some lawyers on Thursday hit the rock,at High Court 5,sitting in Abeokuta.
At the resuming hearing between Buruji Kashamu(claimant) and Ladi Adebutu(defendant) over a case of defamation, the lead counsel to the claimant,Raphael Oluyede drew the attention of the court to Premium Times report on the alleged assassinate plot against the defendant lawyers.
Oluyede in his argument said, the report of Premium Times was a contempt of court, and a story which painted his client black in the eyes of the public,hence, a call on the court to legally address the publication.
The counsel presented printed copy of the publication to the court to be used as exhibit, if court granted his prayer of contempt against the medium.
The judge, Abiodun Akinyemi demanded for the copy,and after going through the publication dismissed the argument of the counsel,saying the court has nothing against the publication,stressing that the media was carrying out its constitutional roles.
‘I have gone through the the publications, and the court has nothing against the publication,and it is not a contempt. The newspaper is doing its job, am not going to say much’,the judge declared
It would be recalled that,in the publication ,a group of Ogun State Lawyers petitioned Commissioner of Police over threat to their lives and attempted murder allegedly traced to embattled Senator,Buruji Kashamu.
The lawyers under Edwards Group Chambers in the letter dated January 30,2017, alleged that Kashamu had contracted some suspected hired killers to terminate them for being counsels to a defendant in a case that bothers on the alleged atrocities of Kashamu in United States of America and United Kingdom.
The petitioners in the letter copied Inspector General of Police, Senate President, Chief Judge of Ogun State,Director of State Security Services and Director,National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,said the alleged grouse against them from Kashamu was because they served as counsels for his opponent on the case.
Signed by Kayode Akinsola on behalf of other lawyers, the petition said after the proceeding of January 25,suspected thugs of the senator,said to have been brought to court by him,pursued them,firing gun shots into their vehicles.
The petitioner explained that, the attempted assassination on them was the fallout out of cross examination on Kashamu, who is a claimant in the matter.
‘Unfortunately,the rigorous cross examination of Buruji Kashamu by Chief Edwards Odugbesan on matters that bothers on the alleged criminal atrocities of Senator Buruji Kashamu in the United States and United Kingdom purportedly infuriated Senator Buruji Kashamu and his teeming supporters in court,majority of whom we later discovered to be hired thugs of Senator Buruji Kashamu sometime last week’, the petition said.
‘Suffice it to say that the aftermath of the close of proceedings of 25th January,2017 witnessed an ugly situation where thugs of the popular politician ran after our vehicles and shot to the air somewhere before getting to Kuto,Abeokuta,Ogun State,forcing us to scamper into safety and narrowly escaped being killed’,the petitioners stated.
The lawyers added further that,the above egregious state of affairs was further aggravated by the threat to take human lives,personally made by Kashamu and captured by the Punch Newspaper of Monday,January 30,’wherein he vowed to kill up to five persons before he can be forcefully extradited to the United States of America to answer to charges of his alleged involvement in banned substances…’
The lawyers also called for police protection ,because they are now targets of attack by Kashamu,stressing that,’it will not be out of place to state that the defendant and all the lawyers representing the defendant are endangered species and prime targets of Senator Buruji Kashamu’s thugs and assassins therewith’
‘As a corollary to the foregoing,we apply for provision of adequate security cover and orderly for all the lawyers representing the defendant before,during and after court proceedings. We equally invite you to investigate the alleged intention of Senator Buruji Kashamu as to the names of those he intend to kill in the aforesaid national publication and occurence of the 25 January,2016’,the petition emphasised.
Meanwhile, on the case between Kashamu(claimant) and Ladi Adebutu(defendant),the court adjourned further hearing till March 16 and 17 following request by the claimant counsel,that his client was sick,and just managed to appear in court.
