ABUJA – Abba Kyari, the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, and three other members of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) of the Nigeria Police Force have lost their legal battle to quash charges related to a cocaine scandal.
They were charged by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) with conspiracy to deal in 17.55kg of cocaine, dealing in cocaine without lawful authority, conspiracy to tamper with cocaine, unlawfully tampering with the 21.35kg of cocaine seized from two drug dealers, and attempting to obstruct NDLEA officials by offering them a bribe.
In their no-case submissions, the defendants argued that the charge against them was premature and that the NDLEA should have allowed their employer, the Nigeria Police Force, to exhaust its internal disciplinary machinery before bringing them before the regular court.
Their counsel, Nureini Jimoh, SAN, argued that the defendants, who are serving police officers, were yet to be subjected to the internal disciplinary measures of the Nigeria Police Council (NPC) and the Police Service Commission (PSC), as required by law.
However, Justice Emeka Nwite dismissed their argument, stating that the powers of the Police Service Commission do not supersede those of the Federal High Court. He further held that the Federal High Court has the power to hear and determine cases on drug-related offences as enshrined in the Constitution and the NDLEA Act.
Kyari and his co-defendants will now face trial in the regular court.
