The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, ruled that the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and his co-defendants must present their defense in the drug trafficking charges brought against them by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Justice Emeka Nwite, in separate rulings on the defendants’ applications arguing that the prosecution had not presented a sufficient case against them (no-case submission), concluded that the NDLEA had established a prima facie case against Mr. Kyari and the other police officers involved.
Mr. Kyari, the primary defendant and former head of the police’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT), was arrested on February 14, 2022, after the NDLEA declared him wanted for alleged connections to an international drug cartel.
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He and four other IRT members – Sunday Ubua (ACP), Bawa James (ASP), Simon Agirgba (Inspector), and John Nuhu (Inspector) – are facing prosecution for charges including conspiracy to deal in 17.55kg of cocaine, dealing in cocaine without legal authorization, conspiracy to tamper with cocaine, and unlawfully tampering with 21.35kg of cocaine seized from two convicted drug dealers.
On March 7, 2022, Mr. Kyari and his co-defendants were arraigned alongside Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, the two suspected drug traffickers apprehended at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, by the officers.
Mr. Kyari and the four other police officers pleaded not guilty, while Messrs. Umeibe and Ezenwanne, the 6th and 7th defendants, pleaded guilty and were subsequently convicted. Previous bail applications by Mr. Kyari and his co-defendants had been unsuccessful.
After the NDLEA concluded its presentation of evidence, each defendant submitted a no-case application, asserting that the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence for a conviction.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite stated that based on the evidence presented by the prosecution so far, he was convinced that a prima facie case existed against the defendants, requiring them to present their defense. He delivered the same conclusion in five separate rulings on Friday.
Regarding Mr. Kyari’s application, the judge stated that “assuming without conceding that the defendants were charged with a lesser or greater amount of cocaine than 17.55 kg, it does not negate the prima facie evidence that the 1st defendant dealt with or tampered with cocaine.”
He further held that the argument from the 1st defendant’s lawyer regarding the need to precisely prove the quantity of cocaine in the charge was not a legal requirement.
He also noted that the section of the law under which the defendants were charged did not specify different punishments based on the quantity of cocaine involved, whether it was one kilogram or more.
Justice Nwite concluded that, considering the evidence presented, a prima facie case had been established against the 1st defendant on all five counts, and he ordered him to enter his defense on all charges. Similar orders were issued for the other four police officer defendants.
The court adjourned the matter until May 21 for the defendants to begin presenting their defense.
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