In a decision handed down by Justice Emeka Nwite on Wednesday, the court determined that the application was without merit. It emphasized that the suspended DCP had not proven any extraordinary circumstances that would have allowed the court to grant him judicial discretion.
Justice Nwite pointed out that the trial court had previously ordered an expedited hearing on a comparable bail application that had been presented to it.
He maintained that no proof was presented to state the reasons the court should reverse its prior decision.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, or NLDEA, was thus given permission to proceed with the prosecution of Kyari and his co-defendants in the case after the court denied the application.
The decision was made around a month after the court gave the troubled former super cop a temporary release from jail so he could take part in his mother's last funeral ceremonies.
It expressly granted him bail for a maximum of two weeks, but also required him to post a N50 million bail bond with a surety in the same amount.
Recall that on May 16, 2023, Justice Nwite prohibited media from reporting on the defendant's case of the defendant, who is on trial for allegedly tampering with cocaine that was taken from Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne and Chibunna Patrick Umeibe, two drug dealers who were found guilty.
Every time Kyari's case is called for a hearing, Justice Nwite forbade newsmen from appearing in the courtroom.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, or NDLEA, filed an application with the court, which resulted in the restraining order.
Kyari, the former leader of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), and four of his team members, ACP Sunday J. Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Insp. Simon Agirigba, and Insp. John Nuhu, are being charged with eight counts by the NDLEA.
The NDLEA had successfully lobbied the court to order the removal of all lawyers and media unrelated to the case out of the courtroom, stating that certain witnesses scheduled to appear in the case needed their identities to be protected.
Sunday Joseph, the NDLEA's Director of Legal and Prosecution, clarified that due to the sensitivity of the case, some of the witnesses he named as clever officers required protection.
Prosecution counsel maintained that the motion was in the best interests of the country as a whole, pointing out that DCP Kyari-aligned Inspector-General (I-G) of Police IRT members were regularly present in court to watch the proceedings.
On March 22, 2023, Judge Nwite denied a motion submitted by Kyari to contest the validity of the charges brought against him.
Kyari, using his legal group under the direction of Mr. Nureni Jimoh, SAN, insisted that the NDLEA should have given police time to use all of its internal resources before instituting the case, arguing that the charge was premature and legally flawed.
He informed the court that an interim report had been provided by the Police, who had already started looking into the claims made against him.
The defendant said that charges against him could only be brought once the police's internal investigation was finished.
In addition to accusing Kyari and his men of trading in cocaine worth 17.55 kg, the NDLEA claimed that they had unlawfully interfered with 21.25 kg of cocaine that they had taken from the two drug traffickers who had been found guilty, Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwane.
The police officers were accused of committing the offense between January 19 and 25, 2022, at the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) IRT, Abuja, in collusion with an ASP named John Umoru (who is now at large), in violation of CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004's NDLEA Act section 14(b).
In two earlier decisions, the court had ordered the defendants to be remanded at Kuje jail while denying them bail.
Kyari's bail motion was denied by the Court of Appeal's Abuja Division as well.
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