A telecoms expert testifying for the defense in the high-profile trial of suspended Nigerian police officer Abba Kyari has told a federal court that call records showed no communication links between Kyari and a suspected cocaine dealer. Adeshina Fasasi, a team lead at MTN Nigeria’s Incident Management Unit, appeared before Justice Emeka Nwite in Abuja on Thursday, stating that analysis of six phone numbers tied to Kyari revealed no contact with any number associated with a figure identified as “Mike Coke” — an alias for an alleged drug trafficker.
Fasasi, subpoenaed as a witness, explained that only one of the six numbers investigated — 08032866679 — was registered under Kyari’s name. When questioned by defense counsel Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), he confirmed that no contact named “Coke” appeared in the metadata of Kyari’s calls or texts. “From the number, I cannot find a number mentioned with the name,” he said.
The MTN official clarified that the telecom provider’s call data records (CDR) capture only technical details such as call durations, locations, device types, and SMS logs, not message content, voice recordings, or names saved in phone contacts. He further noted that a separate number (09136976496) listed under the name “Coke” in the records was registered to Ruth Ayuba, a third party unrelated to Kyari.
Under cross-examination by Joseph Sunday, counsel for Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Fasasi acknowledged he is not a direct MTN employee but part of a managed services team contracted by the company. He also admitted he had not reviewed the full case report submitted to the court and could not verify its completeness.
The hearing marks the latest phase in a trial involving Kyari, a once-celebrated deputy police commissioner, and four other officers accused of conspiring to traffic 17.55 kilograms of cocaine and tampering with an additional 21.25kg of the drug. Two other defendants, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, pleaded guilty in 2022 and received two-year sentences, which they have completed. Kyari and his co-accused officers maintain their innocence.
Justice Nwite, who previously dismissed a “no-case” motion by the defense in May, adjourned proceedings until October 22 for further testimony. The case, filed in March 2022, centers on one of Nigeria’s most closely watched narcotics investigations, with implications for accountability in the country’s security forces. Prosecutors allege the officers collaborated with criminal networks, while the defense has sought to undermine digital evidence through witness testimonies like Fasasi’s.
