DCP Abba Kyari, the suspended Deputy Commissioner of the Nigerian Police Force, and six others have appeared at a Federal High Court in Abuja, Nigeria.
On Monday, the Nigerian federal government announced that suspended DCP Abba Kyari would be charged with eight charges of cocaine trafficking.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) will arraign Abba Kyari and six others before Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja, Nigeria.
Sunday J. Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba, and John Nuhu are among the other defendants in the FHC/ABJ/57/2022 allegation. The defendants are police intelligence response team personnel (IRT).
Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne are also on the list. At the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, Nigeria, these two were also arrested for drug trafficking.
Joseph Sunday, the NDLEA director of prosecution, had filed charges against Abba Kyari and four other police officers for conspiring, obstructing, and trafficking in 17.55 kilograms of cocaine.
According to reports, suspended DCP Abba Kyari and his team illegally tampered with 21.25kg of cocaine. Umeibe and Ezenwanne were also charged with plotting with individuals on the loose to bring 21.35 kg of cocaine into Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, has urged the agency to postpone filing charges against Abba Kyari, the ousted police chief. The suspended police chief was remanded in custody after attempting to bribe an NDLEA employee with $61,000 in order to allow the release of seized cocaine.
The US government is also looking for Kyari for allegedly committing wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. According to Effiong, Kyari’s arraignment on drug-related charges will have an impact on his extradition to the United States.
The NDLEA, on the other hand, announced on Monday that charges had been filed against Kyari and others on February 28.
