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By Derrick Bangura.
On Monday, Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja declined to order the jailed Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, to be released from detention.
Rather, the Judge directed Kyari to notify the Federal Government of the existence of the litigation he had filed against it.
The suspended DCP had dragged the Federal Government before the court challenging his continued detention by an agency of government.
Kyari, in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/182/22, prayed the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the NDLEA to grant him bail on health grounds, pending the hearing and determination of his fundamental right enforcement application.
The anti-narcotics agency had on February 14, 2022, indicted Kyari, ex-head of the Police Intelligence Response Team, in alleged drug trafficking and related offenses.
The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, subsequently handed over Kyari to the anti-narcotics agency for prosecution over alleged links in drug trafficking after the NDLEA released the damning photo and video evidence to nail Kyari.
The NDLEA said Kyari, the suspended IRT head, belonged to a drug cartel that operates the Brazil-Ethiopia-Nigeria illicit drug pipeline.
Kyari allegedly phoned one of the anti-narcotics agency’s officers in Abuja and negotiated a deal to secure the release of a total of 25kg of seized cocaine, offering a $61,400 payment to NDLEA officers who cooperated until his arrest.
In a statement, the IGP backed with the NDLEA’s conclusions, noting that indisputable evidence had indicted Kyari for narcotics offenses.
The NDLEA also stated that the cop and four others would face charges in court.
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After the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicted Kyari for his suspected role in a $1 million scam reportedly conducted by international Internet scammer Ramon Abbas, aka, Hushpuppi and five others, the police commission suspended him on July 31, 2021.
Hushpuppi allegedly paid Kyari N8 million ($20,600) for the arrest and custody of a “co-conspirator,” Chibuzo Vincent, according to the FBI.
Kyari has been designated wanted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.