In a significant legal victory for suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari, the Federal High Court in Abuja has cleared him of a 23-count charge involving alleged asset concealment.
Delivering his ruling on Thursday, March 5, 2026, Justice James Omotosho dismissed the indictment, which accused Kyari and his brothers, Mohammed and Ali, of using false affidavits to hide the ownership of high-value properties.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had argued that Kyari was the true owner of several assets, including the Karsana Residence in Fountain Estate—registered to Ramatu Kyari—and properties in Asokoro and Maiduguri.
However, Justice Omotosho described the agency’s evidence as “watery” and “baseless,” noting that the prosecution failed to establish a credible link between Kyari and the disputed estates.
In his final analysis, the judge emphasized that establishing property ownership requires definitive proof, such as title deeds or ancestral history.
Since the NDLEA failed to disprove Kyari’s claim that his Maiduguri assets were inherited from his late father, the court discharged and acquitted all defendants.
The court further condemned the conspiracy charges against Kyari’s siblings, labeling the prosecution’s strategy as malicious.
Justice Omotosho noted that the allegations were entirely baseless and argued that a decorated public servant should not face such unwarranted legal harassment without compelling proof.
Despite this significant victory regarding his financial declarations, Kyari’s legal troubles are not entirely resolved.
This acquittal is independent of his high-profile drug trafficking trial along with four other suspended police officers currently overseen by Justice Emeka Nwite.
The separate cocaine-related case has already seen the 2022 conviction of two associates, Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, who were sentenced to two-year prison terms.
Persecondnews recalls that the during the trial which began in 2022, the prosecution had called 10 witnesses and tendered over 20 exhibits to prove that Kyari failed to disclose ownership of the various properties and assets.
After the court dismissed a “no-case submission” in October 2025, Abba Kyari officially opened his defense on November 4, 2025.
He had testified in his own defense and was cross-examined throughout November.
Both sides presented their final arguments on December 12, 2025, after which the judge set a date for the final verdict.
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