The Federal High Court in Abuja ,Nigeria’s capital has admitted in evidence, the sum of $61,400, the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, Abba Kyari, who is facing a drug trafficking charge, allegedly offered to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, as a bribe.
Trial Justice Emeka Nwite admitted the money as an exhibit after the NDLEA tendered it in evidence through its third witness in the case, PW-3, Mr Peter Joshua, who identified himself as a Chief Superintendent of Narcotics and an exhibit officer attached to the FCT Command of the agency.
The witness told the court that the foreign currency was handed over to him on January 25, after he weighed and conducted a preliminary test on wraps of cocaine that were seized from two convicted drug pushers- Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwane- who were linked to Kyari.
He said the money, was given to him for safekeeping by the Director of Intelligence and the Deputy Commander-General of Narcotics, at the office of the Commander, NDLEA, FCT Command.
“My lord, I took the serial numbers of the said amount after it was handed to me and I packed and sealed the money in a transparent evidence pouch,“ the witness added.
Meanwhile, after the money, which was packaged in a transparent nylon, was counted in the open court, Justice Nwite admitted it in evidence and marked it as Exhibit 11, while the document containing their serial numbers, was marked as Exhibit 12.
The NDLEA had in the charge before the court, alleged that Kyari who hitherto headed the Police Intelligence Response Team, IRT, attempted to bribe its senior officer with $61,400. at a restaurant in Abuja to prevent the testing of part of the cocaine that was seized from the two arrested drug pushers.
It would be recalled that both Umeibe and Ezenwanne, who were cited as 6th and 7th Defendants in the charge, were arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu while attempting to smuggle cocaine into the country.
They were apprehended by members of the police IRT and subsequently transferred to the NDLEA.
However, the NDLEA alleged that the IRT under Kyari, tampered with the quantity of cocaine they recovered from Umeibe and Ezenwanne.
The duo, on March 7 when they were arraigned alongside Kyari, pleaded guilty to the drug trafficking charge and were later sentenced to two years imprisonment in line with a plea bargain agreement they entered into with the NDLEA.
At the resumed proceedings in the matter on Wednesday, the NDLEA, through its PW-3, Mr Joshua, also tendered in evidence, 24 packs of cocaine that were handed over to it by the Kyari-led IRT.
The cocaine was brought before the court in two travelling bags.
While the first bag contained 9 packs of cocaine wrapped in white cotton sacks, the second bag, contained 3 additional packs of cocaine and 12 pellets that were separately tied in nylon bags.
Following a no-objection stance by the defence lawyers, Justice Nwite admitted the cocaine sacks in evidence and marked them as exhibits.
The court equally admitted three international passports that were seized from the convicted drug pushers, Umeibe and Ezenwanne, in evidence.
The NDLEA had alleged that Kyari and his men, unlawfully tampered with 21.25kilograms worth of cocaine that they seized from the two convicted drug traffickers- Umeibe and Ezenwane, even as it also accused them of dealing in cocaine worth 17.55kg.
It alleged that the police officers committed the offence between January 19 and 25, 2022, at the office of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) IRT, Abuja, in connivance with one ASP John Umoru (now at large), contrary to section 14(b) of the NDLEA Act, CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Aside from Kyari, other members of his IRT team that are also on trial, are: ACP Sunday J. Ubia, Insp. Simon Agirigba, Insp. John Nuhu, and ASP Bawa James.
The Defendants had since pleaded not guilty to the charge, even as they begged the court to release them on bail, pending the determination of the case NDLEA entered against them.
Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned to the 30th of August to hear the bail application of Abba Kyari.
PIAK
