THE former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) Abba Kyari has denied ownership of a shopping mall and other assets linked to him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
The embattled police officer also released details of his bank accounts and assets.
He said the allegation by the NDLEA linking him to the ownership of 14 assets, including a shopping mall, residential estate, polo playground, lands and farmland, was untrue.
Kyari, a suspended Deputy Commissioner Of Police (DCP), in a statement by his lawyer, Hamza Tani, said the NDLEA linked him to the assets to further tarnish his image.
According to him, the agency resorted to cheap blackmail because “NDLEA’s case in court against Abba Kyari and four others is not going well for them”.
The lawyer said, “They expected the court case to go smoothly in their favour the way their sponsored media trials went viral between February and April 2022. They failed to understand that, unlike media trials, courts need real evidence and facts, which NDLEA don’t have in this case.
“By all means, out of desperation, again, NDLEA wanted to spoil Abba Kyari’s name at all cost because they know that all their initial efforts have failed as the overwhelming majority of good Nigerians who want peace and security for the nation are still behind Abba Kyari despite the set-up by NDLEA against Abba Kyari in January 2022, which was followed by massive sponsored media trial earlier this year.
“Again, NDLEA is sponsoring fabricated lies, untrue stories, and flimsy allegations, trumped-up and false charges in court without justification against Abba kyari.”
Tani recalled that on August 29, 2022, Justice Inyang Ekwo of an Abuja Federal High Court dismissed a suit filed by the Attorney-General of Federation to extradite Kyari to the United States.
“On August 30, the NDLEA filed another 24-count charge against DCP Abba Kyari just to mislead the general public and tarnish his image despite the same matter being before Federal High Court in Maiduguri and without any evidence linking Abba Kyari to any of those properties or any link to any drug money, stealing government money or any proceed of any crime,” Tani said.
Insisting that Kyari had nothing to do with the properties, the lawyer added, “The businessmen who own those properties and gave their documents have already filed their cases against NDLEA in Federal High Court Maiduguri.
“The NDLEA, without any evidence, went and marked innocent people’s properties in Maiduguri and Abuja in April 2022 and released the news to the media, which went viral April 2022.
“These whole properties matter is before Federal High Court in Maiduguri, but NDLEA is still desperate by trying to link Abba Kyari without any evidence to financial crimes and properties that do not belong to him, neither is there one kobo of drug money or any crime money that is linked to Abba Kyari in any way.
“We challenge NDLEA to release the evidence to the public immediately, if any. The whole thing is only aimed at media trials as they have no evidence to show to the court. If they have the evidence, let them release it to the media. This is how all their cases will crumble in the courts since their aim is only a media trial.”
Kyari’s lawyer went ahead to release the details of his bank accounts.
According to him, he has N2.8 million in his UBA account, which he said is the only account he has been using for the past eight years.
He disclosed that there is another 7,000 pounds in GTB, kept over eight years ago, and N350,000, also in GTB, kept many years ago.
Kyari also said he has the sum of N200,000 in Sterling Bank and Access Bank accounts which have not been used for over eight years.
“These are all the money that DCP Abba Kyari has in his accounts, which he has declared, and the NDLEA should immediately release all Abba Kyari’s accounts,” Tani added.
The Federal Government had filed a fresh 24-count charge against Abba Kyari after allegedly uncovering 14 assets linked to him.
The assets include shopping malls, residential estate, polo playground, lands and farmlands.
According to the prosecution, the assets were uncovered in different locations in Abuja and Maiduguri, Borno State.
A reporter with the ICIR
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