The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed on Wednesday an application filed by embattled police officer Abba Kyari seeking to quash drug‑trafficking charges brought by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and former head of the Intelligence Response Team of the Nigeria Police Force, is on trial alongside three fellow officers: Assistant Commissioner of Police Sunday Ubia, Inspector Simon Agirigba, and Inspector John Nuhu.
The defendants, through their lawyers, argued on 18 January that the NDLEA’s charges were incompetent because the officers had not undergone the internal disciplinary procedures mandated by the Nigeria Police Council and the Police Service Commission under the 1999 Constitution. They maintained that the NDLEA’s failure to await those internal actions deprived the court of jurisdiction, and therefore urged the court to quash the charges and release them.
Prosecuting counsel for the NDLEA, Joseph Sunday, opposed the application and asked the court to reject it. Justice Emeka Nwite ruled in favor of the prosecution, rejecting the defendants’ application. He held that the powers of the Police Service Commission do not supersede those of the Federal High Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over drug‑related cases as provided by the 1999 Constitution and the NDLEA Act.
The News Agency of Nigeria reported that, on 5 September 2022, the NDLEA filed a fresh suit in the Federal High Court accusing Kyari of non‑disclosure of assets. The new complaint listed 24 counts, alleging that Kyari failed to declare ownership of properties in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Maiduguri, and that over ₦207 million and €17,598 were found in his accounts across three banks.
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