Abba Kyari, the suspended deputy commissioner of police, filed an application with the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, seeking to have drug-related charges against him dropped. The application was rejected.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency is bringing charges against Kyari, a former head of the intelligence response team (IRT) of the Nigerian police force (NDLEA).
He and four IRT members, including ACP Sunday J. Ubua, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirgba, and Inspector John Nuhu, were accused of conspiring to sell 17.55kg of cocaine in front of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
They were also accused of conspiring to tamper with the 21.35kg of cocaine that had been taken from two convicted drug dealers and of trafficking cocaine without a license.
Kyari, who insisted on his innocence, had informed the court that the charges against him were unfounded and that the NDLEA should have given the police time to use all available internal resources before taking such action.
The police, he claimed, had already started an inquiry into the charges against him and had produced an interim report.
Kyari insisted that the police’s internal investigation must be finished before he may be charged in court.
According to him, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has the same authority as the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate and punish incompetent police employees following the Police Act and Regulations.
Yet in a decision on Wednesday, Justice Emeka Nwite rejected Abba Kyari’s request to have the accusations brought against him dropped.
According to Judge Nwite, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s constitution, the court has the sole authority and jurisdiction to handle cases involving drugs.
The court ruled that the power to hear and decide the charge is granted by section 251 of the constitution.
Additionally, Judge Nwite concluded that the Federal High Court’s authority does not override that of the PSC.
