A federal high court in Abuja has discharged and acquitted Abba Kyari, the suspended deputy commissioner of police, of a 23-count charge of alleged non-declaration of assets filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice James Omotosho held that the prosecution failed to establish its case against Kyari and the other defendants.
Kyari was charged alongside his two brothers, Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari, who were accused of swearing false affidavits to conceal the origin of properties allegedly linked to the police officer.
However, the court ruled that the NDLEA did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the properties cited in the charge actually belonged to Kyari.
According to the judge, ownership of landed property can be established through traditional history, title documents, acts of possession, or possession connected to ownership.
He noted that none of these proofs was presented by the prosecution to demonstrate that the property located at Fountain Estate, Kasana said to belong to Ramatu Kyari was owned by the suspended police officer.
Justice Omotosho also held that the prosecution failed to produce evidence linking Kyari to other properties mentioned in the charge, including those located on Linda Choko Road in Asokoro, Abuja, and another property in Maiduguri, Borno State.
In his defence, Kyari told the court that the Maiduguri property belonged to his late father and was inherited by him and his siblings, a claim the court said the prosecution failed to disprove.
The judge further dismissed the conspiracy charge against Kyari’s brothers, ruling that the allegation was not supported by credible evidence and describing the prosecution’s case as weak.
Omotosho added that Kyari had served the country and should not be subjected to persecution in the absence of convincing proof.
Meanwhile, Kyari and four other suspended police officers are still standing trial before Justice Emeka Nwite in a separate case over alleged involvement in a cocaine deal.
Two drug traffickers linked to that case Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne were earlier convicted and sentenced to two years in prison in 2022.
