Justice Emeka Nwite, who presided over the case, in his ruling, held that Kyari’s bail was at the discretion of the court in line with section 161 (2) of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has refused to grant bail to the suspended former Commander of the Intelligence Response Team, DCP Abba Kari.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who presided over the case, in his ruling, held that Kyari’s bail was at the discretion of the court in line with section 161 (2) of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act.
The judge stated that the defendant had not shown any evidence to warrant the court to grant him bail.
“Bail can only be granted if the alleged offences carry a two-year term in line with section 162 of the ACJA, but in this case, the maximum sentence is 25 years.”
However, Justice Nwite refused to extend its earlier order but granted an accelerated hearing in the case.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, gave Kyari a two weeks’ bail to conclude his mother’s burial rites.
The temporary bail was granted by the court to allow Abba Kyari to pay his respects to his mother, Yachilla Kyari, who died on Sunday, May 5, 2024.
The court said the two-week bail would be enough for Kyari to return to his home state – Borno – and conclude his mother’s burial rites.
The court had fixed Friday, May 31, for the determination of his bail application in the trial over drug-related charges filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) following his arrest over two years ago.
Kyari and four members of the IRT were charged with conspiracy to deal in 17.55kg of cocaine. They were also charged with dealing in cocaine without lawful authority; conspiracy to tamper with cocaine and unlawfully tampering with the 21.35kg of cocaine seized from two convicted drug dealers.
SaharaReporters had reported how Kyari; as well as his deputy, ACP Sunday Ubua, allegedly received a combined N4.2 billion in their separate bank accounts.
The details were part of a report sent to the immediate former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), by the NDLEA in 2022.
According to the drug enforcement agency, not less than N1.4 billion passed through Kyari’s account while he was commander of the IRT.
However, Kyari’s deputy, Ubua, received far more than him as not less than N2.8 billion was traced to his eight bank accounts.
In 2019, the IRT, an elite crime-busting squad led by the suspended officer, came under fire over its alleged take-over of multibillion naira properties owned by Collins Ezenwa, a suspected kidnapper killed by the police the previous year.
After conducting separate investigations, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Amnesty International accused Kyari’s IRT of gross human rights abuses.