A Federal High Court in Abuja has discharged and acquitted suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, of a 23-count charge of alleged non-declaration of assets filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Delivering the verdict, Justice James Omotosh held that the prosecution failed to establish its case against Kyari and other defendants, saying the NDLEA did not present sufficient evidence to prove the property cited in the charge belonged to Kyari.
Justice Omotosh explained that ownership of landed property can be proven through traditional history, title documents, acts of possession, or possession connected to ownership, but none of these were presented by the prosecution to show that the property located in Fountain Estate, Kasana was owned by the suspended police officer. The judge also noted that the prosecution failed to produce evidence linking Kyari to other property referenced in the charge, including those located on Linda Choko Road in Asokoro, Abuja, and in Maiduguri, Borno State.
Kyari was charged alongside his two brothers, who were accused of swearing false affidavits to conceal the origin of some property allegedly linked to the police officer. However, the court found that the prosecution’s case was weak and lacked concrete evidence to secure a conviction. With this verdict, Kyari has been cleared of the charges brought against him by the NDLEA.
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