Abba Kyari, the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, has been released from Kuje Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory after spending 27 months in detention. His release follows a protracted legal battle stemming from his arrest on February 14, 2022, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for alleged involvement with an international drug cartel.
Kyari, along with four members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT)—Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu—was arraigned on March 7, 2022. Additionally, two suspected drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, were also charged. While Kyari and the IRT members pleaded not guilty, Umeibe and Ezenwanne admitted their guilt and were subsequently convicted.
Despite numerous applications, Kyari’s requests for bail were consistently denied until a recent decision by a Federal High Court in Abuja. On May 22, 2024, Judge Emeka Nwite granted Kyari bail to allow him to conclude the burial rites of his mother, Yachilla Kyari, who passed away on May 5. As part of the bail conditions, Kyari was required to surrender his passport and report regularly to the nearest NDLEA office during the bail period.
The court has scheduled May 31, 2024, for a hearing on Kyari’s main application for bail concerning the drug trafficking charges. In the interim, Kyari’s release was confirmed by Adamu Duza, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Correctional Service of the Federal Capital Territory Command.
“DCP Kyari has perfected his bail conditions and has since been released today,” Duza stated on Friday night, confirming Kyari’s compliance with the court’s directives.
