The Appeal Court in Abuja has thrown out an appeal by suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, asking it to thrash the drug trafficking charge filed against him.
Kyari is standing trial alongside four members of his team—Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu—on an eight-count charge of drug trafficking.
In January 2023, Kyari submitted that the charge against him was legally defective.
The disgraced police officer said the charge was premature, adding that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) ought to have allowed the police to exhaust their investigation and internal disciplinary action before instituting a suit against him.
He told the court that the police had already commenced investigating allegations against him and issued an interim report.
Kyari further argued that the Police Service Commission (PSC) has similar powers to investigate and discipline erring officers in line with the Police Act and regulations, the same way the National Judicial Council (NJC) disciplines judicial officers.
Consequently, he urged the court to quash the charge and discharge him.
But in a judgement delivered on Thursday, by a three-man panel of the court, the court dismissed Kyari’s appeal for lacking merit.
Justice Adebukola Banjoko, who read the lead judgment, held that there was no reason to tamper with the findings and conclusions reached by the trial court on March 22, 2023.
“The learned trial judge is directed to continue and conclude the trial at the federal high court,” Banjoko said.
“The appeal is found unmeritorious, and it is accordingly dismissed.”
Other justices on the panel—Peter Obiora and Okon Abang—agreed with the lead judgment.
