THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has reacted to the acquittal of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court cleared him of a 23-count charge bordering on alleged non-declaration of assets on Thursday, March 5.
The presiding judge, James Omotosho, held that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations against Kyari and his co-defendants.
Kyari, a former head of the Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), was charged alongside two of his brothers, who were accused of swearing false affidavits in an alleged attempt to conceal the ownership of certain properties.
Reacting to the judgment, the NDLEA’s spokesperson Femi Babafemi, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), acknowledged the court’s decision but maintained that the ruling by Omotosho should not be confused with the main drug-related case against the suspended police officer.
The agency had accused Kyari of failing to fully disclose assets allegedly linked to him, including several landed properties in the Federal Capital Territory and his home state of Borno.
However, in his ruling, Omotosho held that the prosecution did not present credible evidence linking Kyari to the properties cited in the charges.
The judge explained that ownership of landed property could be established through traditional history, title documents, acts of possession or possession through a connected party.
According to him, the NDLEA failed to provide any of these forms of proof to establish that some of the properties allegedly linked to Kyari were actually owned by him.
Kyari had denied ownership of some of the properties cited by the NDLEA during the trial.
Testifying in his defence in November 2025, he told the court that some of the assets in Borno State belonged to his late father and were inherited by him and his siblings.
He also dismissed claims that he owned a polo playground in the state, saying the facility had existed long before he became a police officer.
However, Kyari admitted owning a farmland along the Abuja-Kaduna Road, which he said he had operated for about a decade.
He also acknowledged maintaining accounts with banks including United Bank for Africa, Access Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank.
2022 charges against him
The ICIR reports that the charges were filed in 2022 after the agency alleged that it uncovered 14 undeclared assets linked to Kyari.
The agency had claimed that the assets included shopping malls, a residential estate, farmland, lands and a polo playground.
It also claimed that about N207 million and €17,598 were found in Kyari’s bank accounts.
The charges, filed under suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/408/2022, accused the defendants of disguising the ownership of properties and converting funds, offences punishable under the NDLEA Act and the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011.
‘Cocaine case ongoing’
Despite the acquittal in the asset declaration case, Kyari is still facing trial in a separate criminal matter.
He is currently being prosecuted before another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Emeka Nwite, over allegations linked to a cocaine trafficking deal.
In that case, Kyari is standing trial alongside four other suspended police officers, Sunday J. Ubia, Bawa James, Simon Agirigba and John Nuhu, who were members of the police special tactical unit.
Two suspected drug traffickers initially charged in the case, Chibunna Patrick Umeibe and Emeka Alphonsus Ezenwanne, had earlier pleaded guilty and were convicted in 2022.
“First, I need to clarify that the ruling by Justice Omotosho is completely different from the main and substantive drug case which continues before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Monday, March 16.
“That one is very much on course. The case determined by Justice Omotosho today is a different case of money laundering and non-declaration of assets,” the NDLEA spokesperson said.
He added, “On your question on whether the agency will appeal the ruling or not, the prosecution team has been directed to apply for the Certified True Copy of the judgment, which details will help the management take a decision on what next to do.”
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M