TheCable

A federal high court in Abuja has granted bail to Abba Kyari, suspended deputy commissioner of police (DCP), for two weeks.

Kyari has been in detention since his arrest in February 2022.

In the ruling delivered on Tuesday, Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, said the bail is to enable Kyari to conclude the burial rites of his mother, Yachilla Kyari, who died on May 5.

The judge ruled that Kyari should deposit his international passport with the court and report to any National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) formation nearest to him, within the period of the bail.

The judge fixed May 31 for the determination of Kyari’s main application for bail in the drug trafficking charge.

Kyari was arrested on February 14, 2022, after the NDLEA declared him wanted over alleged links with an international drug cartel.

On March 7, 2022, Kyari was arraigned alongside Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu, who are members of the police intelligence response team (IRT).

Others are Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, two suspected drug traffickers who were arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

Upon arraignment, Kyari and four other defendants pleaded not guilty.

However, Umeibe and Ezenwanne, the sixth and seventh defendants, pleaded guilty and were convicted accordingly.

Since then, applications by the defendants to be released on bail have been rejected.

The presiding judge refused to grant the defendants bail twice after they argued that their lives were being threatened by criminals whom Kyari’s team arrested.

The court of appeal in Abuja also dismissed Kyari’s appeal for bail.

In a sister case, the suspended DCP is also standing trial on a 24-count charge alongside his two siblings – Mohammed Kyari and Ali Kyari – over non-disclosure of assets.

The defendants were granted bail in that case. However, the judge noted that Kyari’s release from prison custody is dependent on what happens in the drug trafficking case.