Court Denies NDLEA's Request in Abba Kyari's Drug Case

The Federal High Court in Abuja denied a request from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to foreclose the evidence of the second defense witness, Inspector John Nwoke, in the trial of DCP Abba Kyari, the former head of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), regarding an alleged cocaine deal. Kyari, along with four other suspended IRT officers, is facing eight counts of charges related to tampering with cocaine recovered from drug traffickers at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State.

While two drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, have pleaded guilty, Kyari and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. The trial was set for cross-examination of DW2, but the witness was absent due to illness, as communicated through a letter dated October 2.

Defense counsel Julius Mba indicated that they had filed a subpoena duces tecum requiring the NDLEA to produce personnel records from January 19, 2022, for the defense's case.