Going to US is like jumping into fire — Kashamu

Senator-elect and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Mr. Buruji Kashamu, on Saturday, denied any past trip to the United States and ruled out any possibility of ever visiting the country in the future.

In an interview with Sahara TV, which was monitored by our correspondent, the PDP chieftain likened such a visit to leaping into fire.

Asked by the interviewer to clarify his alleged involvement in a United States criminal case as detailed in a popular prison memoir-turned-TV series by American, Piper Kerman, Kashamu refuted the claims.

He said, “I am a Nigerian. I am not running away from my fatherland. If anyone thinks he has a case against me, he should follow due process and we will take it up from there. I am not under any obligation to go to the US to answer the same charges after the true judgment of the British court has exonerated me of the same allegations.

“Asking me to take the next available flight to the US so as to clear my name is like asking me to jump in a fire-may the Almighty rescue me from it. If the US prosecutor could hide important evidence that later exonerated me in the UK court, only God knows what they will do in their country.

“I have done a lot of things to clear my name. I spent four years in detention at the hands of the US authorities to prove my innocence before I was eventually exonerated. This was also in the presence of the US prosecutors and other agencies in various countries, like the Republic of Benin, Nigeria. It was after a rigorous trial with pictorial and documentary evidence that I was discharged.”

Kashamu further explained that the case was taken to London and he was acquitted. He added that his accusers should follow legal process if they believed their claims held water.

“I have cleared my name and myself in London. If anybody believes that they have any other case against me, they should come through due process. I am ready to challenge it. I am ready to face it without any problem.

“I have never in my life put my foot into the United States. I have never demanded for their sticker. I have been a businessman right from 18 years old. Up till today, I continue doing my business. My last submission is that I know nothing about what they are saying over there,” he said.