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, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove its case.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to establish ownership or concealment of the properties linked to Kyari and his two brothers, noting that property ownership can be proven through traditional history, title documents, or possession — none of which were convincingly demonstrated.
The court also found no credible evidence connecting Kyari to the disputed properties, including those located in Fountain Estate, Linda Choko Road in Asokoro, Abuja, and Maiduguri, Borno State, while accepting his claim that the Borno property was inherited from his late father.
Justice Omotosho dismissed the conspiracy allegations against Kyari’s brothers, Mohammed and Ali Kyari, describing the prosecution’s case as weak and unsupported by reliable proof, and stating that the officer should not face persecution without convincing evidence.
Kyari and four other suspended officers, however, remain on trial in a separate case over alleged involvement in a cocaine trafficking deal, in which two convicted traffickers were sentenced in 2022.
