The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by an associate of the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Sunday J. Ubua seeking to be admitted in bail.
In judgment on Friday, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the appeal by Ubua was without merit.
Justice Stephen Adah, in the lead judgment, held that the appellant placed no new materials before the court to warrant it to depart from the earlier decision given on the issue by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Justice Adah proceeded to affirm the ruling by Justice Nwite, rendered on August 30, 2022 rejecting Ubua’s application for bail on the grounds that the prosecution placed sufficient materials before the court to warrant its rejection of the bail application.
Ubua is standing trial with Kyari and three other former members of the Intelligence Response Team, Force Investigation and Intelligence Department of the Nigeria Police Force on charges relating to unlawful dealing in drugs and attempting to tamper with evidence.
They are being prosecuted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
In the judgment on Friday, the Court of Appeal rejected his claim that his continued incarceration has occasioned hardship on his ailing wife and that he safety was threatened because he was being held in Kuje prison, where some hardened criminals, who he had arrested are being kept.
Justice Adah, who resolved the three issues, identified for determination, against the appellant, dismissed the appeal marked: CA/A/CR/1017/2022.
The Court of Appeal had in a on February 24 this year, dismissed a similar appeal by Kyari.
Justice Adah, who also delivered the lead judgment in that appeal, found that the trial court was right to have denied bail to Kyari.
The judge said: “In the instant case, the appellant is standing trial for an eight count charge of serious offences.
“The trial is currently going on at the trial court. And, from the ruling of that court, an order for accelerated hearing of the charge has been made.
“There is no allegation before us in this appeal that the trial is stalled or that there is unnecessary delay in the said trial.
“A concise consideration of the nature and facts the case that is on trial at the lower court, will no doubt call for caution in granting an application of this nature.
“Of the eight count offences for which the appellant and others were charged before that court, counts three and four deal with the offence of allegation of tampering with exhibits.
“Count eight deals with the allegation of the appellant attempting to bribe investigators, who eventually are witnesses of the offence for which he was accused.
“Except the appellant could bring before that court some other compelling reasons, I believe it is safer to refuse this application for bail.
“From the foregoing, I am of the view that the sole issue for determination in this case is resolved against the appellant.
“This appeal is completely lacking in merit. The appeal is hereby dismissed. The ruling of the trial court is hereby affirmed and bail is denied the appellant,” the judge said.
