The Federal High Court, Abuja Division has granted temporary bail to former Commander of the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria police, Abba Kyari who is facing eight charges of conspiracy, illegal dealing in cocaine, importation of cocaine and obstruction.to enable him attend his mother’s burial
Penpushing reports that the trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, had on two occasions denied Kyari and his co-defendants bail on the grounds that they failed to provide cogent reasons to warrant bail, but on Tuesday the judge granted him bail to enable him to attend the funeral rites scheduled to hold in Borno State.
The judge declared that the bail granted the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, who has been in detention at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over two years must not exceed two weeks
Penpushing further reports that Kyari is standing trial alongside four members of his former police unit, the Intelligence Response Unit (IRT), which include Sunday Ubua, an Assistant Commissioner of Police; Bawa James, an Assistant Superintendent of Police; Simon Agirgba, an Inspector, and John Nuhu, also an Inspector.
The two civilians, who are Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, were arrested over the charges at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, Enugu State, and charged as the 6th and 7th defendants, with the two of them jailed for two years each in June 2022 after pleading guilty earlier in March of the same year.
Penpushing also reports that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) charged the accused persons to court for alleged hard drug trafficking offences, with the seven defendants arraigned on March 7, 2022 on eight charges of conspiracy, illegal dealing in cocaine, importation of cocaine and obstruction.
The former Commander of the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria police, and the four other police officers pleaded not guilty, setting the stage for the commencement of their trial, while the authorities of the drug law agency accused Kyari and the four IRT members of dealing in 21.35kg of cocaine between 19 and 25 January 2022, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under section 11(c) of the NDLEA Act.
Penpushing reports that in one of the charges, the agency alleged that Kyari and the four IRT operatives tampered with 21.35kg of cocaine by removing 17.55 kg of it and substituting same with some other substance.
The offence is contrary to and punishable under section 14(b) of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, while the prosecutors equally accused Kyari, in a count which features only him as the sole defendant, of attempting to obstruct the agency and its authorised officers by offering $61,400 to a senior anti-narcotics operative as an inducement to prevent the testing of the 17.55kg of cocaine.
Penpushing further reports that in three of the counts, Messrs Umeibe and Ezenwanne were accused of importing 21.35kg of cocaine into Nigeria through the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, Enugu State, on 19 January 2022.
Meanwhile, Kyari, apart from the narcotic charges, has pending fraud charges in the United States of America (USA) and an extradition suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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