Drug Trafficking Charges: You Have Case To Answer, Judge Tells Abba Kyari

Justice Emeka Nwite, of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, told the detained Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, Abba Kyari, that he case to answer in his ongoing trial over alleged drug trafficking.

Recall that the detained Abba Kyari, had filed an application to quash the drug trafficking charge against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

At the Wednesday's hearing in the application, Justice Emeka Nwite, said the court found no reason to discontinue hearing on how Kyari, who was then the headed the Police Intelligence Response Team, IRT, and four other police officers, allegedly tampered with cocaine that was seized from two convicted drug peddlers- Chibunna Patrick Umeibe, and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne.

Justice Nwite described Kyari's application as lacking in merit, and rejected the preliminary objection the alleged drug trafficking DCP, filed to challenge the legal competence of the charge, which he said the court lacked the requisite jurisdiction to entertain.

According to the presiding judge, the court is constitutional empowered by Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to hear drug-related offences brought under the NDLEA Act.

He threw away Kyari’s argument that the NDLEA ought to have allowed Police to exhaust its internal investigative/disciplinary mechanisms, before it instituted the court action.

NDLEA is prosecuting Kyari on an eight-count charge the Agency brought against him, and four members of his IRT team; ACP Sunday J. Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Insp. Simon Agirigba and Insp. John Nuhu.

Kyari's legal team led by Mr. Nureni Jimoh, SAN, had insisted that the charge against him was legally defective.

According to Jimoh, the charge was premature, stating that Police had already commenced investigation on allegations against him and issued an interim report, before the NDLEA rushed him to court.

The lawyer told the court that he could only be charged to court upon conclusion of the internal investigation by the police, arguing that the Police Service Commission, PSC, has similar powers to investigate and discipline erring police officers in line with the Police Act & Regulations, the same way the National Judicial Council, NJC, discipline judicial officers.

He asked the court to quash and discontinue case and free him from the allegations. Kyari also prayed the court to terminate further proceedings in the charge against them.

 The NDLEA, Director of Legal Services, Mr. Sunday Joseph, prayed the court to dismiss the objection, arguing that Kyari's objection was based on fundamental misconception of the law.

Joseph, while objecting the argument of the defendant, said what the NDLEA brought to court was a criminal case for the violation of laws and not a disciplinary action for the infringement of Police Service Rules.

“It was police itself that brought this matter to us, knowing that it has no power to handle cases that fall under the NDLEA Act.

“Powers of police does not include selling of hard drugs that were seized. That is what we classify as tampering and that is the charge the Defendants are facing before this court”, the prosecution said.

NDLEA is alleging that Kyari and his men were had unlawfully tampered with 21.25kilograms worth of cocaine that they seized from the two drug traffickers- Umeibe and Ezenwane- even as it also accused them of dealing in cocaine worth 17.55kg.

According to the Agency, the police officers committed the offence between January 19 and 25, 2022, at the office of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) IRT, Abuja, in connivance with one ASP John Umoru (now at large), contrary to section 14(b) of the NDLEA Act, CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

Kyari is at the custody of Kuje Correctional Facility after court denied the him bail and ordered their they be remanded at Kuje prison.