Kashamu Withdraws Suit Against Obasanjo

Buruji Kashamu

Senator-elect Buruji Kashamu has withdrawn a N20.1bn libel suit he instituted against former president Olusegun Obasanjo before a Federal Capital Territory court in Abuja.

The Punch reports that the presiding judge, Justice Valentine Ashi, struck out the suit on May 26, 2015, following the notice of discontinuance of the suit filed by the plaintiff.

Kashamu reportedly made a decision to withdraw the suit because of “an ongoing settlement talks” between him and Obasanjo. However, the lawyers, who are representing the former president in the court, said that they were not aware of such talks.

On February 6, 2014, the senator sued Obasanjo for publishing a letter titled, “Before it is too late”, addressed to former president Goodluck Jonathan in December 2013.

Kashamu had asked the court to award him N20bn as aggravated and exemplary damages, and N100m against Obasanjo for “maliciously and recklessly” publishing a letter, portraying him as a fugitive wanted for drug-related offences in the USA.

The Nation reports that the senator had already called two of his three proposed witnesses before he withdrew the suit. The two witnesses who had appeared before the court were Haruna Rasheed and Omotayo Alade-Fawole. They reportedly testified that Obasanjo’s letter, which represented Kashamu in unfavourable light, destroyed their long years of business relationship with him.

On December 5, 2014 Kashamu sought to stop Obasanjo from proceeding with public presentation of his book titled: “My Watch”. The senator insisted that the subject of the libel suit was contained in the book. However, the former president shunned the court order and launched his book on December 9, 2014, in Lagos.

The following day Kashamu returned to court to report that Obasanjo had flouted the court’s order. Justice Ashi held that the former president was in contempt of court for flouting his order and directed security agencies to seize the copies of the books wherever they were found. The judge also gave Obasanjo 21 days to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt for going ahead to publish the book.

In April, following counter arguments by Obasanjo’s lawyer, Mahmud Magaji, the judge lifted all orders against the ex-president.

Proceedings were to resume on the main libel case, when Kashamu brought an application for the withdrawal of the suit.

Meanwhile, Lagos Federal High Court has nullified Kashamu’s arrest warrant, ensuring that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency can’t go after the Ogun East senator-elect.