Judge Accuses NDLEA Of Persecuting Abba Kyari, Dismisses Case, Acquits Him

By Adesina Soyooye

Suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, has floored the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Court.

The NDLEA had dragged Kyari and two of his brothers, Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari to Court over allegations which bordered on non-disclosure of assets.

But on Thursday, a Federal High Court in Abuja on dismissed the case filed by  NDLEA against the Kyaris.

Justice James Omotosho dismissed the suit for failure of the anti-narcotic agency to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

According to the Honourable Judge the burden of proving a case beyond a reasonable doubt rests on the prosecution. In this case, Justice Omotosho said, the prosecution failed. He described the case against Kyari and his brothers as “persecution”, and

consequently discharged and acquitted the defendants of the charge.

Kyari, former Head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), and his two brothers had the date of ruling on the case against them fixed by

Justice Omotosho  after counsel for the NDLEA, Sunday Joseph, Kyari’s lawyer, Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, and his brothers’ Lawyer, Monjok Agom adopted their processes and presented their arguments.

In the 23-count charge, NDLEA named Abba, Mohammed and Ali as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.

The Agency alleged that Abba and his two younger brothers, Mohammed and Ali, failed to make a full disclosure of their assets.

NDLEA said it uncovered 14 assets, including shopping malls, residential estates, polo playgrounds, lands and farmland belonging to Kyari which, the Agency, alleged,

Kyari failed to disclose his ownership of the property in different locations in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Maiduguri in Borno.

It, also,  alleged that over N207 million and Є17, 598 were  discovered in Kyari’s various accounts in Guarantee Trust Bank, United Bank for Africa and Sterling Bank.

In the charge sheet marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/408/2022, NDLEA accused them of “disguising of ownership of properties and conversion of monies.”

The offences it held,  are punishable under Section 35 (3) (a) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act, and Section 15 (3) (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.

The Kyaris who pleaded not guilty to the charges, have been vindicated by the Court.