Abba Kyari, Others Get March 22 For Ruling On Their Bail Applications

A Federal High Court in Abuja has set March 22 for a ruling on a suit filed by three suspended police officers and the embattled Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari.

Abba Kyari and other police officers who have been placed on leave are disputing the veracity of the criminal accusations made against them.

Justice Emeka Nwite set the determination date after listening to the arguments of the prosecution and defense legal representatives.

The four members of the Nigeria Police Force’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) who are being sued by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency are ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba, and Inspector John Nuhu (NDLEA).

Kyari and others are charged with conspiring to sell 17.55 kg of cocaine, selling the substance without a permit, conspiring to tamper with the substance, and illegally tampering with the 21.35 kg of cocaine that was taken from Umeibe and Ezenwanne.

The former IRT boss was also accused of trying to bribe NDLEA officials so that they couldn’t perform their jobs.

Leading defense attorney Nureni Jimoh, SAN, argued the application on Wednesday and requested that the charges against his clients be dropped and that they be freed because the defendants, who are active police officers, hadn’t yet gone through the internal disciplinary process required by law from the Nigeria Police Council (NPC) and the Police Service Commission (PSC).

The senior counsel claimed that because the complainant did not wait for the outcome of the NPF’s disciplinary proceedings regarding his suspects, the complainant (NDLEA) was invalid and that the court lacked the power to proceed with the trial as a result.

He argued that before the defendants could face any external prosecution, the Nigeria Police Council (NPC) and Police Service Commission (PSC) had to apply the internal disciplinary processes stipulated by the Constitution.

He emphasized that the PSC’s disciplinary authority cannot be shared with any other organization, including the NDLEA.

In his reaction to the application from the legal representative of Abba Kyari and company, Joseph Sunday, the prosecutor, argued against the application and requested that the judge deny it.

According to Sunday, the majority of the events described by the senior counsel were illegal in nature and had nothing to do with the Police Service Act.

He insisted that neither the defendants’ application nor the affidavit evidence presented any requirements that had to be satisfied in order for the charge to be dropped.