Yesterday, the detained Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari, who is being prosecuted for drug trafficking, challenged the NDLEA’s authority to prosecute him.
Kyari, who previously served as the head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), is currently being tried for allegedly tampering with cocaine that was taken from Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, two people who have been convicted of selling drugs.
He is facing an eight-count charge that the NDLEA preferred against him and four of his team members; Insp. Bawa James, ACP Sunday J. Ubia, and ASP Insp. Simon Agirigba and Nuhu John
Kyari, through his attorney, Mr. Nureni Jimoh, SAN, argued that the charge against him was unjustified during Wednesday’s resumption of the case.
He told the court that the charge was too soon and that the NDLEA should have let the police use their internal resources before taking the action.
He told the court that the police had already started looking into the claims against him and had issued an interim report.
Kyari maintained that he could not be charged with a crime until the police had finished their internal investigation.
He argued that the Police Service Commission, or PSC, has the same authority as the National Judicial Council, or NJC, to investigate and discipline erring police officers in accordance with the Police Act and Regulations.
As a result, Kyari pleaded with the court to drop the charge and let him go.
The other Defendants also accepted his request, asking the court to put an end to the charges they were facing.
In the meantime, Mr. Sunday Joseph, the Director of Legal Services for the NDLEA, argued that the Defendants’ preliminary objections were based on a fundamental misinterpretation of the law and urged the court to dismiss them. “NDLEA argued in a counter-affidavit it filed with the court that the case it brought before the court was a criminal case for breaking the law, not a disciplinary action for breaking the rules of the police service.
It informed the court that, in contrast to the Armed Forces Act, which provided for the establishment of a Court Martial, the Police Act explicitly stated that police officers are subject to all applicable criminal laws.
In addition, the NDLEA argued that it would not have transferred drug-related cases to it if it were the police’s responsibility to investigate or prosecute them. “It was the police that brought this matter to us, knowing that it does not have the authority to handle NDLEA Act cases.
The police do not have the authority to sell the seized hard drugs. That is what we call tampering, and the Defendants are facing that charge in front of this court.
The Police Act itself specifies that officers of the police can be charged. Kyari, the first defendant, was even suspended when he committed the crime. By way of an affidavit or legal argument, the applicants have not established any prerequisite for the filing of this charge. Because their application is misconceived and devoid of any legal or factual structure, it must fail.
The lawyer for NDLEA submitted, “We urge my Lord to dismiss the application and proceed to hearing of the matter.” “Trial Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the matter until March 22 for a ruling after listening to both parties.
The NDLEA had said that Kyari and his men had tampered with 21.25 kilograms of cocaine that they had taken from Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwane, two people who had been convicted of trafficking drugs. It had also said that they had sold 17.55 kilograms of cocaine.
“The court had earlier denied the Defendants bail, even as it ordered their remand at Kuje Prison,” it said. “The offence was committed between January 19 and 25, 2022, at the office of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) IRT, Abuja, in connivance with one ASP John Umoru, who is currently on the run.” This was in violation of section 14(b) of the NDLEA Act, CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria