The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and four of his colleagues to open their defence in the ongoing trial over alleged involvement in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, Justice Emeka Nwite dismissed the no-case submissions filed by Kyari and his co-defendants, stating that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had established a prima facie case against them.
Kyari, a former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), was arrested on February 14, 2022, after the NDLEA declared him wanted over alleged links to an international drug cartel.
He is standing trial alongside four other IRT officers: ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba, and Inspector John Nuhu.
The defendants face a five-count charge, including conspiracy to deal in 17.55kg of cocaine, unlawful dealing in the substance without appropriate authorisation, and conspiracy to tamper with 21.35kg of cocaine seized from two convicted drug traffickers.
At a previous court session on March 7, 2022, Kyari and the four officers pleaded not guilty, while the two traffickers — Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne — pleaded guilty and were convicted.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the defendants filed no-case submissions, claiming that the evidence presented was insufficient to warrant their conviction.
However, in five separate rulings on Friday, Justice Nwite held otherwise.
“Assuming without conceding that the defendants were charged with a lesser or greater quantity than 17.55kg, it does not remove the fact that the 1st defendant dealt with or tampered with cocaine,” the judge said in his ruling on Kyari’s application.
He added that the amount of cocaine is immaterial to establishing a violation under the law.
Justice Nwite further emphasised that the relevant statute does not differentiate punishments based on the quantity of cocaine involved, thereby nullifying the defence’s argument on the insufficiency of evidence related to the drug quantity.
The judge concluded that a prima facie case had been made out against all five defendants and ordered them to enter their defence on all counts.
The case was adjourned until May 21, 2025, for the commencement of the defence proceedings.