Suspended Head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Abba Kyari, has finally had a breath of fresh air after spending 18 months in prison.
Persecondnews reports that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday granted bail to the embattled police officer.
Justice James Omotosho said Kyari was granted bail “because he and his accomplices refused to escape when they had the chance to do so during the Kuje Prison attack on July 5, 2022.”
The judge ruled that Kyari’s refusal to escape when about 90 percent of the inmates escaped, “has proven that Kyari is ready to face any allegation against him.”
“All the allegations are bailable and he is not a flight risk,” he declared.
Omotosho granted conditional bail to Abba Kyari in the sum of N50 million with two sureties in like sum, adding that the sureties must have property worth N250 million within the court’s jurisdiction, among other conditions.
Speaking to newsmen after the ruling, a member of Kyari’s defence team, Mr Suleiman Shehu hailed the court’s decision “as a well-deserved victory.”
Persecondnews recalls that Kyari and four other police officers, were on July 6, 2022, arrested for their involvement in an alleged case of criminal conspiracy, unethical and unprofessional conduct, and tampering with exhibits in a case of illicit drug trafficking involving a perpetual trans-national drug cartel.
The the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), had in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/57/2022, alleged that Kyari and his men, unlawfully tampered with 21.25kilograms worth of cocaine that they seized from the two apprehended drug traffickers even as it also accused them of dealing in cocaine worth 17.55kg.
Those arrested alongside Kyari include ACP Sunday Ubuah, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agrigba, and Inspector John Nuhu.
Sequel to his arrest, Kyari was also facing extradition to the U.S. for his alleged involvement in a $1.1 million fraud deal involving an Instagram celebrity, Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi.
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