A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday discharged and acquitted suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police Abba Kyari and his two brothers in a 23-count charge bordering on alleged non-declaration of assets filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish the allegations against Kyari and the other defendants.
The case followed investigations by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, which accused the defendants of failing to declare several properties allegedly traced to the suspended officer.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/408/2022, the agency alleged that Kyari owned or controlled multiple assets, including landed properties in Abuja and Maiduguri, as well as other investments.
The agency also claimed that over N207 million and €17,598 were discovered in accounts linked to him.
However, Kyari and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The judge ruled that the properties cited by the prosecution were not credibly linked to the suspended police officer.
The court also discharged Kyari’s brothers, Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari, whom the anti-narcotics agency accused of helping conceal ownership of some of the disputed assets.
Court’s ruling
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho said the prosecution did not present credible documentary evidence connecting Kyari to the disputed properties.
He held that the responsibility of proving criminal allegations lies with the prosecution, which failed to discharge that burden in the case.
The court therefore discharged and acquitted all three defendants.
Background
The trial began in 2022 after the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency filed the 23-count charge against Kyari and his brothers, accusing them of failing to disclose assets and disguising ownership of certain properties fully.
Kyari, a former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), has been under investigation by multiple agencies since 2021, when he was suspended from the Nigeria Police Force following allegations linking him to criminal activities.
While the ruling clears Kyari and his brothers of the charges related to the asset declaration, the judgment does not end their legal challenges.
The suspended police officer is still facing a separate trial over alleged involvement in a cocaine trafficking case currently before another Federal High Court in Abuja.
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