Abba Kyari, the detained Deputy Commissioner of Police, renewed his request for bail until the conclusion of his trial, but Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja rejected it on Wednesday.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has charged Kyari with eight counts related to drug trafficking.
The offences contravened Section 14(b) of the NDLEA Act, CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The court twice denied Kyari’s bail requests, leading to his detention at Kuje prison.
Additionally, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld the rulings, rejecting Kyari’s appeal for bail.
Persecondnews recalls that two convicted drug traffickers, Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwane, seized 21.25 kg of cocaine, accusing Kyari and his team of tampering with and dealing in illegal drugs.
The alleged offences were committed between January 19 and January 25, 2022, at the Inspector-General of Police’s office in Abuja in collaboration with other police officers, including ASP John Umoru (currently at large), ACP Sunday J. Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Insp. Simon Agirigba, and Insp. John Nuhu.
The charge also includes dealing in an additional 17.55 kg of cocaine.
Persecondnews recalls that the court granted Abba Kyari a temporary release from prison last month to attend his mother’s funeral, with a N50 million bail valid for only two weeks and two sureties of the same amount to ensure his return to prison for the continuation of his trial.
At Wednesday’s sitting, Justice Nwite, in a ruling, held that Kyari’s application lacked merit.
The judge ruled that Abba Kyari did not present any extraordinary reasons to justify granting him bail, and therefore, the court exercised its discretion against him.
The judge noted that a previous bail application had been denied and instead ordered an expedited hearing of the case, which was already underway.
Justice Nwite said that no compelling evidence was presented to justify overturning the court’s previous decision, and thus, he upheld the earlier ruling.
As a result, the judge denied Abba Kyari’s application and granted the NDLEA’s request to proceed with the prosecution of Kyari and his co-defendants.
Kyari had previously filed a motion to quash the charges against him, but the court rejected his application on March 22, 2023, allowing the case against him to proceed.
His legal team, led by Nureni Jimoh (SAN), contested the validity of the charges, citing legal defects and prematurity.
They argued that the NDLEA should have allowed the police to complete their internal investigations and follow due process before bringing the case to court.
Kyari asserted that the police had already initiated an investigation into the allegations against him and had issued a preliminary report.
He contended that the police should complete their internal investigation before formally charging and bringing him to court.
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