By Emmanuel Adeniyi
Drug trafficking trial: Court dismisses Abba Kyari’s fresh bail request
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a fresh application made by detained Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, who is facing drug trafficking charge.
Kyari applied to be released on bail, pending the conclusion of his trial but was denied on Wednesday.
The court, in a ruling that was delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, on Wednesday, held that the application lacked merit.
The ruling came about a month after the court temporarily released Kyari from prison custody to enable him to participate in his mother’s final burial rites.
The court specifically granted him bail for a period not exceeding two weeks and mandated him to pay a bail bond to the tune of N50 million with a surety in the like sum.
Meanwhile, Justice Nwite on Wednesday ruled that the suspended DCP failed to establish any exceptional ground that would warrant the exercise of judicial discretion in his favour.
He noted that the trial court had earlier dismissed a similar bail application that was brought before it and ordered an accelerated hearing of the case.
He held that no evidence was adduced to show why the court should depart from its earlier ruling.
Consequently, the court refused the application and granted the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency the leave to proceed with the prosecution of both Kyari and his co-defendants in the matter.
Kyari, before his suspension and trial headed the Police Intelligence Response Team. He is answering to an eight-count charge the NDLEA preferred against him and four members of his team; ACP Sunday J. Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Insp. Simon Agirigba and Insp. John Nuhu.
The NDLEA had persuaded the court to walk all journalists and lawyers not connected to the case, out of the courtroom, citing the need to protect the identities of some witnesses billed to testify in the matter.
The Director of Legal and Prosecution at the NDLEA, Mr. Sunday Joseph, explained that some of the witnesses he identified as intelligent officers, needed to be shielded, given the sensitivity of the case.
Insisting that the application was in the overall national interest, the prosecution counsel said it was observed that members of the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police IRT, who were loyal to DCP Kyari, were always in court to observe the proceedings.
Jutice Nwite had on March 22, 2023, dismissed a motion that Kyari filed to challenge the competence of the charge against him.
Kyari, through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Nureni Jimoh, SAN, maintained that the charge was legally defective and premature, insisting that the NDLEA ought to have allowed police to exhaust its internal machinery before it instituted the action.
He told the court that the Police had already commenced an investigation into allegations against him and issued an interim report.
The defendant argued that he could only be charged to court upon the conclusion of the internal investigation by the police.
The NDLEA alleged that Kyari and his men, unlawfully tampered with 21.25kilograms worth of cocaine that they seized from the two convicted drug traffickers- Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwane- even as it also accused them of dealing in cocaine worth 17.55kg.
It alleged that 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.
The court had on in two previous rulings, denied the defendants bail, even as it ordered their remand at Kuje prison.
The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal equally turned down Kyari’s request for bail.