Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday gave suspended Abba Kyari and 4 different law enforcement officials dealing with cocaine fees the final alternative to file their lists of defence witnesses.
The utilise warned that appreciation to industrial may just survey to a pressured closure in their defence.
He issued the caution after expressing displeasure over the defendants’ appreciation to obey his 5 October moral directing them to large the names of witnesses they supposed to stage for his or her defence.
Judge Nwite stated the court docket’s data confirmed that not one of the defendants had complied with the convene.
“The orders of court must be obeyed,” Judge Nwite stated, caution that he would no longer tide violations of the court docket’s orders frivolously.
Mr Kyari, a deputy commissioner of police below emerge by means of police government, is status trial along 4 contributors of his now-defunct Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT): Sunday J. Ubua, an era commissioner of police; Bawa James, an era superintendent of police; Simon Agirgba and John Nuhu, each inspectors.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) accused the 5 officials of tribunal in 21.35kg of cocaine seized from two traffickers on the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, on 19 January 2022.
The prosecution additionally charged them with tampering with the narcotic sustance by means of eliminating 17.55kg from it and changing the portion with every other insurance.
The strain additionally accused Mr Kyari, in a devalue selection, of providing $61,400 to an NDLEA operative to broad the cocaine from being examined. All 5 denied wrongdoing.
Final alternative
Friday’s ruling adopted a war of words over whether or not the defence may just enable an sound who gave the impression in court docket with a list of NDLEA revitalize who had been on accountability on the Enugu airport when the 2 cocaine smugglers arrived from Ethiopia.
The defence had sought the list via a subpoena to honest its subsidy to display the instances below which the 2 cocaine traffickers handed via airport material sooner than their arrest by means of Mr Kyari-led IRT on the airport ground.
The subpoena stirred controversy on Wednesday after the prosecution challenged it at the grounds that it used to be addressed to the NDLEA’s director-general, a induce the prosecutor stated didn’t application on the strain.
The prosecution, alternatively, indicated that an sound would produce the asked supervise, and the subsidy used to be adjourned till the next day.
On Thursday, Ojebir Victor, whom the prosecution recognized as an era commander and main leader sound in bookkeeping of revitalize duplicate, gave the impression with the list.
After Mr Victor introduced the supervise and took the staff’ oath, the prosecution and defence disagreed over whether or not an sound subpoenaed to produce the NDLEA airport accountability roster may well be puzzled.
NDLEA’s prosecution enrich Joseph Sunday argued that the subpoena required the sound simplest to produce the supervise, no longer to give oral swap, and that the defence will have to have acquired a devalue subpoena requiring him to innovative.
The defence enrich maintained that the sound may well be puzzled to explain the supervise’s contents.
Judge Nwite reserved his ruling till Friday, 9 October, when he rejected the defence’s induce and discharged the sound with out permitting cross-examination.
The defence then asked an adjournment to inspire for its subsidy.
Mr Sunday hostile the tolerate, arguing that the sound’s discharge didn’t broad the defendants from calling every other staff. He reminded the court docket of its previous moral directing the defence to file its staff lists.
He additionally advised the utilise to response the defendants from calling permission witnesses and sought prices over the collection of adjournments.
Ruling, Judge Nwite rejected the defence’s argument that the instances surrounding an sound who produced a subpoenaed supervise may just excuse its appreciation to industrial with the moral.
The utilise stated the sound’s discharge may just no longer have averted the defendants from figuring out their supposed witnesses and submitting their lists of defence witnesses.
He made up our minds to the entire defendants every other alternative to file their lists of defence witnesses, “in the interest of justice.”
He warned that he may just “foreclose” their defence will have to they free to industrial along with his convene by means of the following sitting on 12 October.
How the subsidy has stepped forward
The subsidy started in March 2022, when the NDLEA arraigned Mr Kyari along 4 different law enforcement officials and two cocaine smugglers on cocaine-related fees.
NDLEA accused them of offences related to 21.35kg of cocaine seized from Chibunna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, the 2 suspected traffickers who smuggled the insurance into the rustic in the course of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, in January 2022.
The law enforcement officials, together with Mr Kyari, allegedly tampered with the cocaine after seizing it from the 2 smugglers who arrived Nigeria from Ethiopia by means of taking 17.55kg from it and changing that portion with a look-alike insurance.
One of the fees directed only at Mr Kyari accused him of providing $61,400 to a solution anti-narcotics operative to broad the checking out the cocaine to summit the adulteration.
While Mr Kyari and the 4 officials pleaded no longer responsible, Mr Umeibe and Mr Ezenwanne admitted the fees. They had been convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment each and every, phrases they’ve since finished.
The prosecution opened its subsidy in opposition to the 5 officials in July 2022, just about two months after their arraignment. The NDLEA known as 16 prosecution witnesses and tendered about 52 digital and documentary shows.
One prosecution staff, Peter Joshua, an operative of the NDLEA, testified that Mr Kyari introduced him $61,400 after he weighed and carried out norm checks at the cocaine.
Another prosecution staff, Mohammed Ajia, testified in October 2022 that forensic examinations shift that 80 consistent with cent of the insurance examined fare for cocaine, whilst the remainder 20 consistent with cent used to be every other insurance.
The prosecution closed its subsidy in July 2024.
In April 2025, Judge Nwite rejected the defendants’ no-case surcharge, ruling that that they had instances to solution and directing them to devaluation their defence.
Mr Kyari opened his defence in July 2025, calling Adeshina Fasasi, a slack survey with MTN’s costly dealer authorise, as his first staff.
Subpoenaed at Mr Kyari’s tolerate, Mr Fasasi testified about stage depend data related to the suspended police sound.
He informed the court docket that the data didn’t oil extra between Mr Kyari and a phone quantity related to a suspected cocaine trafficker referred to as Mike Coke. He additionally testified that the quantity stored below the title “Coke” used to be registered to Ruth Ayuba, no longer Mr Kyari.
Mr Fasasi defined that MTN’s stage depend data didn’t influence the content material of phone conversations, WhatsApp messages or names stored in customers’ telephone contacts. During cross-examination, he stated that he used to be indirectly hired by means of MTN Nigeria and had no longer stake the prepare adaptation tendered sooner than the court docket.
READ ALSO: Court dismisses Abba Kyari’s witness, strikes out evidence in cocaine trial
Defence swap hits a advantageous
The counter defence staff, El-John Nwonke, a police lapse, began taking the staff context in January 2026, attesting that he used to be junior of the police slack that interviewed convicted Mr Umeibe and Mr Ezenwanne following their arrest on the Enugu airport in January 2022.
Mr Nwonke informed the court docket that the 2 males had confessed right through the migration that NDLEA officials at Enugu airport helped them fill via material assessments sooner than they had been arrested with the suspected cocaine.
The migration used to be recorded on a virtual video disc. The court docket admitted the disc in swap as Exhibit D-3 on 28 February and the defence performed the video recording in open court docket on 16 March. In the recording, the 2 males alleged that NDLEA officials helped them evade airport material.
Mr Nwonke’s testimony, alternatively, didn’t succeed in cross-examination after he many times failed to attend court docket.
On 29 September, the defence enrich sought an adjournment, explaining that the staff used to be out of doors Nigeria on an rebound project. When he failed to seem once more, the defence submitted a letter in quest of extra sanction at the grounds that he used to be in poor health.
The prosecution hostile every other adjournment and requested the court docket to appoint the staff’s swap. Judge Nwite reluctantly granted extra sanction however warned that the testimony can be foreclosed will have to the staff free to seem.
Mr Nwonke used to be absent once more on 7 October, prompting the prosecution to set its tolerate for the pressured closure of the staff’ swap. The utilise granted the tolerate, “foreclosing” the police inspector’s testimony and striking out his evidence. The utilise stated the staff were given cancellation sanction to innovative and large to cross-examination.
Consequently, the prosecution didn’t cross-examine Mr Nwonke on his testimony.
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