Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has paid tributes to the late Nigeria’s Senator, Buruji Kashmu.
Senator Kashmu died from coronavirus on Saturday, August 8, 2020.
Reports picked up by DGN Online suggested that he passed away at the First Cardiology Hospital, Lagos.
Senator Kashmu was aged 62 and his death was confirmed by Senator Ben Murray Bruce in a tweet that read: “I have just lost my good friend of forever to #COVID19. Until his death, Sen. Buruji Kashamu and I were inseparable. He died today at First Cardiology Consultants, in Lagos. May his gentle soul rest in peace. I pray his family and loved ones the fortitude to bear this heavy loss”.
The late Senator Kashamu between 2015 and 2019 was accused of being a drug lord.
During his four-year tenure as Senator of Ogun East Senatorial District, the businessman was accused of winning his elections with forged certificates and battled for years with the federal government following attempts to have him extradited to the United States to face allegations of drug trafficking.
Kashmu was also popular for leading an extravagant lifestyle and creating a faction in the Ogun State’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a letter of condolence to Prince Dapo Abiodun, Executive Governor of Ogun State, Mr Obasanjo described the late Senator as “a significant citizen of Ogun State,” adding that “please accept my condolence and that of my family on this irreparable loss.”
He added that “the life and history of the departed have lessons for those of all us on this side of the veil.”
“Senator Esho Jinadu (Buruji Kashmu) in his lifetime used the maneuver of law and politics to escape from facing justice on alleged criminal offence in Nigeria and outside Nigeria,” according to Mr Obasanjo.
He added that “but no legal, political, cultural, social or even medical maneuver could stop the cold hand of death when the Creator of all of us decides that the time is up.”
I have just lost my good friend of forever to #COVID19. Until his death, Sen. Buruji Kashamu and I were inseparable. He died today at First Cardiology Consultants, in Lagos. May his gentle soul rest in peace. I pray his family and loved ones the fortitude to bear this heavy loss. pic.twitter.com/OJGIt0VK3n
— Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) August 8, 2020
By Melvin Tarlue