Abba Kyari, a suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, has been released from the Kuje Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory after being detained for 27 months.
Kyari was arrested on February 14, 2022, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on allegations of involvement with an international drug cartel. He and four members of the Police Intelligence Response Team—Sunday Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu—were arraigned on March 7, 2022.
The case also involved two suspected drug traffickers, Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, who were arrested at Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu. Unlike Kyari and the IRT members, who pleaded not guilty, Umeibe and Ezenwanne pleaded guilty and were subsequently convicted.
Despite numerous attempts to secure bail, Kyari’s applications were repeatedly denied until a recent decision by a Federal High Court in Abuja led to his release.
