US court rules against Nigeria senator facing drug charges

ABIDJAN, Cote d’Ivoire – A U.S. appeals court has upheld a ruling against a Nigerian senator who faces drug charges related to the hit TV show “Orange is the New Black.”

Chicago prosecutors accuse Buruji Kashamu of heading a heroin trafficking ring in the 1990s. Kashamu, elected in 2015 from Ogun state, argues that prosecutors want his dead brother instead.

In an April 2015 filing, Kashamu asked a district court to prevent his “abduction abroad by U.S. authorities.” The court dismissed the complaint, and the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling Monday. It said U.S. agents’ attempt to arrest Kashamu in co-ordination with local authorities would not constitute “an attempted abduction.”

A dozen people long ago pleaded guilty in the case, including Piper Kerman, whose memoir was adapted for the Netflix show.