Suspended and detained Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, has described claims by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) that he was linked to an international drug cartel as untrue.
Kyari stated this in an affidavit in support of his motion ex-parte marked: FHC/ANJ/CS/182/22 and filed before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The motion was filed on his behalf by his lawyer, C. O. Ikena and deposed to by Kyari’s younger brother, Muhammad Usman.
Kyari had filed the application for the enforcement of his fundamental rights, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria.
In the document, Kyari, who described the allegation as trumped-up, said the NDLEA had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.
Usman, in his deposition, said: “The applicant (Kyari) is a Deputy Commissioner of Police formerly attached to F1B-1RT, Abuja.
“That the respondent is Federal Republic of Nigeria represented by National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Abuja.
“That a suspect has been shipping in drugs (cocaine) to Nigeria from Ethiopia using all the Airports in Nigeria with the knowledge of the NDLEA officers.
“That usually, NDLEA officers cleared him and even escorted him from the airport to his destination.
“That on that fateful day, the suspect as usual shipped drugs (cocaine) from Ethiopia to Enugu Airport, and the officers of NDLEA cleared him within the airport and escorted him out of the airport.
“Then officers of FIB-IRT arrested the suspect with the help of an informant.
“That before the Informant accepted to work with the officers of FIB-IRT, they both had an agreement to compensate the Informant. That officers of FIB-IRT having noticed that officers of NDLEA were the ones clearing the said suspect with his drugs (cocaine), they immediately took the suspect to NDLEA and also reported those officers involved in the act,” he averred.
Usman said instead of the NDLEA to handle the matter accordingly and bring the officers involved to book, they decided to frustrate the informant thereby refusing to compensate the informant.
“That it was at this juncture that the attention of the DCP Abba Kyari was called, whom because the NDLEA officer involved is his friend.
“And he (Kyari) decided to intervene for the purpose of compensating the Informant. That the NDLEA officer, who refused to compensate the Informant, was the one who framed DCP Abba Kyari up on a trump-up allegation that he was trying to bribe him.
“That the agent of the respondent (NDLEA) declared the applicant wanted because of a mere allegation that he was trying to bribe an NDLEA officer without sufficient proof,” he added.
He said it was based on the allegation that the Nigerian Police Force arrested him and handed him over to the NDLEA.
He said Kyari had been kept in custody since his arrest on February 12.
“That the allegation upon which the applicant is arrested and detained is a trump-up allegation without sufficient proof,” he said.
The judge, Ekwo fixed February 24 for the hearing of the motion and ordered that the NDLEA be put on notice.
Kyari, who has been suspended as the Commander of Intelligence Response Team (IRT) at the Force Intelligence Bureau of the Nigeria Police Force, is in the custody of the NDLEA over allegations of involvement in drug dealing.
The new revelation comes amid Kyari’s entanglement with a fraudster, Ramon Abbas aka Hushpuppi.
